EctoShots
by Nimrod The Writer
Summary: 101 Drabble challenge. Danny Fenton and Vlad Masters. Exploited to the max.
1. 1 Comfort

Yep. I'm doing the drabble challenge thing too. It's a good way to ward off writers block, I hear.

Most, if not all, will be about Vlad and Danny. _Of course. _

_:D_

_

* * *

__Comfort [__kuhm__-fert] -to soothe, console, or reassure._

People take comfort in different things, sometimes in unexpected things. Usually it's easy to see what or who people go to for comfort. For example, Tucker Foley. Anyone with a brain between their ears can tell he takes comfort in the technology he carries around all day. Or my Dad, Jack Fenton. He obviously takes comfort in food.

But sometimes, the things we take comfort in aren't all that good for us. Looking back at my Dad, food really isn't a good thing for him to take comfort in. It leads to obesity and heart problems. Luckily, he has my Mom to balance him out. I suppose some would argue that technology isn't a good comfort item either, seeing as it might promote anti-social behavior or carpal tunnel. However, I'm quite certain that what my brother has started taking comfort in is worse than technology and food put together.

It started a few months ago, when all the ghost hunting finally started taking its toll. He used to always walk around on edge, jumpy and anxious 24/7. His grades were plummeting, Mom and Dad were furious, and the ghosts were attacking more and more. Coupled with the fact that he was still struggling to gain better control of his powers...well it's surprising that I didn't see this coming sooner.

I guess I always thought he'd talk to Sam or Tucker if he was having trouble, or even better, me. He never came to me of course, so I assumed it was Sam and Tucker he was confiding in. Imagine my surprise when _they _came to _me _worried about Danny.

"Doesn't he talk to you guys?" I asked.

"No, we thought he was going to you." they replied.

"So who is Danny taking comfort in?"

The answer was always right in front of my face. He started coming home later and later, sometimes covered in dirt and blood, and sometimes with hardly a scratch on him. I now know that I just couldn't see the scratches.

"Danny, are you okay?" I would ask.

"I'm fine Jazz, okay? Stop worrying about me." He'd reply.

I never did, in fact, I started paying closer attention to him. I noticed that he started getting better with his ghost powers, but I thought that was just an effect of the countless ghost fights he dealt with. Then he started getting _much_ better, having a degree of control that he'd never displayed before. I watched closer and noticed even more changes. He battled ghosts with a cool demeanor. No more witty banter, no more battle cries, just a single focused thought: victory. His style was achingly familiar, but I couldn't place it. It wasn't until he starting using the dirtier tricks that I figured it out. You know, shooting while a ghosts back was turned, using another ghost against the opponent, ambushing the weaker specters to cut the battle time in half. He could duplicate now. And warp. It's almost embarrassing that I didn't see it before hand.

I didn't say anything to Danny though, because things were steadily improving. Since he was so much better at ghost fighting, he was able to get more sleep, which improved his grades and lifted the stress of disappointing Mom and Dad from his shoulders. Logically, things should have been returning to normal, but they weren't. His grades were increasing, he was getting more sleep, and Mom and Dad weren't yelling anymore, but Danny was different. Instead of his usual loud, energetic personality, he was withdrawn, distant. Sam and Tucker noticed it immediately, and quickly came to me.

I didn't tell them my fears. I didn't want them to talk to Danny, because then Danny would know I was watching him. He's become much better at hiding things. And lying too.

It was a stroke of luck that caught their conversation. I was on my way home from the library and it was late. I hadn't bothered driving because it was such a short walk. I was passing a dark ally when I heard my brother crying.

"Please..."

"You know the deal, Daniel." a voice hissed, sick enjoyment in his voice.

"I can't. Please..."

There wasn't anymore talking after that, but I heard his muffled scream. I had dropped my books, running head long into the dark ally.

"Danny!" I called.

But there was no one there. Nothing but a few rats and an empty dumpster. I went home that night, scared and shaking. Danny wasn't in his room, but Mom and Dad had gone to bed early, so they didn't know. I couldn't sleep, too worried and scared. Where was Danny?

He crawled through his window around two in the morning. I was waiting outside his door, and I heard him stumbling. I was about to rush in, but I heard another voice.

"Not a word." he hissed.

Danny coughed and choked in response.

I waited outside his door, my hands pressed over my mouth to stifle my breathing. Too long, I waited, wondering if the coast was clear yet. I managed to muster up some courage and peeked in the door.

Danny was already asleep, not a scratch on him, snuggled up under the covers. Quietly, I tip toed to his bed, listening to his soft breathing.

"Danny?" I whispered, unsure and nervous.

He didn't wake, mumbling incoherently and turning in his sleep. My heart sank at the sight of him, realizing I hadn't gotten a good look at him in ages. He was so pale, and dark purple rings hung under his eyes. I wondered, if maybe things weren't getting better for him, if maybe it was only the outside that was improving. It made me think of the different types of comfort the world has to offer. Some soothe the soul, some console a grieving heart, and some reassure outside witnesses, leaving the black hurt to fester within.

Vlad was the reassuring type of comfort.


	2. 85 Formal

"It looks stupid." I grumbled, glaring at my reflection in the mirror.

"Stop complaining. You look fine." Vlad smacked my fiddling hands away, tightening the satin black tie himself, his calm expression never phasing.

I grumbled mutinously as he bustled around my suit like an old lady, commenting here and there about things I didn't care to listen too. I had more important things to worry about. Like where the heck were my parents?

"Are you sure they haven't shown up yet?" I peaked out the blinds, ignoring the mass of guests already making my stomach turn and searching for a pair HAZMAT jumpsuits.

"No Daniel," Vlad replied patiently, yanking me from the blinds and back in front of the mirror. "But I'm sure we will know the second they do. You can't honestly think your parents would miss your own wedding, do you?"

"Well..." I trailed off uncertainly.

The truth is, they might actually refuse to come because of Vlad, something we both knew. My Dad had never really forgiven Plasmius for the whole disateriod incident, and my Mom just flat out hates him. She never got over the fact that he used to beat the crap out of me on a regular basis.

I looked at Vlad's quiet reflection in the mirror, knowing he was thinking the same thing I was. He even managed to look slightly uncomfortable.

"Daniel, I warned you that this might happen. If you want me to leave-"

"Stop it, I already told you no. For all the crap you put me through when I was in high school, you're not allowed to leave unless I say so." I cut him off, tugging at the tie that was strangling me.

Vlad was quiet, that distant look in his eye. It was a look he often got ever since he returned from the depths of space nearly six years ago. People wouldn't understand, but Vlad had really done a 360 after his four year stay in space. No one aside from my personal social circle actually knew he had returned, of course, but if the whole world did know he was back, they'd be screaming for justice, and justice is something Vlad's already gotten.

I probably wouldn't be saying that if he came back from space with a homicidal urge to rip me to shreds, but he'd done the opposite, which makes everything different. After four years of complete isolation, he turned into that Vlad I met in an alternate future, the one who admitted, regretted, and grieved over his mistakes and consequences.

He was the one who found me all those years ago, and instead of blaming his ruined life on me, he apologized. I'm ashamed to say I wasn't so forgiving at first. Actually, I was down right rude. I pretty much threw his apologies back in his face and told him I never wanted to see his ugly face again. It took a few months, but eventually I got over my own grudges and recognized that Vlad wasn't the Vlad I thought he was anymore. I searched for him for ages, and just when I was starting to fear he'd gone and killed himself, I found him in a homeless shelter up in New York, playing bingo with three old people.

The look on his face when _I _apologized to _him _was priceless. He couldn't believe that I'd spent three months searching the country for him just so I could apologize, especially when he didn't think I had anything to apologize for.

Basically, it's one big sappy sob story that led to him moving into a secluded house back in Amity where I often spent my Sunday afternoons playing chess and half my week nights training. He's still better than me as far as ghost powers go and I haven't manged to beat him once at chess.

Anyways, Sam and Tucker were the first to know, seeing as they had been at my house when Vlad had first shown up and apologized. I remember Sam being a little disappointed in me for turning him away like I did, but she never said anything until I finally told her I needed to find him and apologize. Sam had smiled at that. She's always been one for second chances, even for crazy ex-villainous fruitloops.

It was my parent's reactions that were the funniest, if not the most disastrous. When they found out Vlad was back and giving me ghost power lessons every other night of the week, they went ballistic. I ended up protecting Vlad from their homicidal wrath because he was all for letting them do what ever they wanted to him, saying crap about how he deserved it and junk. I later smacked him upside the head for not defending himself, politely telling him stop wallowing in self loathing and grow a pair. He didn't like that very much. We got in our first fist fight since he returned, and looking back on it, it's funny that the fight was about defending Vlad's dignity, of all things.

Vlad still takes too much crap from my parents, but at least he won't let them kill him now. All in all, it's been a weird relationship trip with him, and as Jazz often teases me, it's a psychological roller coater, but I guess I like it, in some weird way. He's still Vlad, and no matter what epiphany he goes through, he's still a fruitloop. It's nice to have something constant in my hectic life.

"Daniel." Vlad spoke up from behind me, a hand on my shoulder as we gazed into the mirror together. I met his eyes, silently telling him to go on.

He looked as though he wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to say, or maybe it was he had too many things he wanted to say and he couldn't find the right words for it? He met my stare again, a softer look in his eyes that I liked much more than the glare I often received as a teenager.

"I am honored to be apart of your wedding." he said quietly, giving my shoulder a comforting squeeze.

I smiled, turning around and facing him. We were practically the same height now, he was just an inch or so taller than me.

"Wouldn't be a wedding without you, fruitloop." I grinned.

Vlad rose an eyebrow at my eternal nick name, retaliating with one of his own.

"Come here, little badger." he rolled his eyes, pulling me forward into a hug.

Of course, my parents decided to finally show up, and yes, they barged in at the perfect moment as I hugged Vlad's strong frame with content smile, a smile that jumped away almost as fast as our hug.

"Mom! Dad! You made it!" my smile was too wide.

As usual, they glared at Vlad, my Dad supporting a blush at busting in on our man hug. I saw Mom's fingers twitching for an ecto-gun and noticed they weren't wearing their usual jumpsuits.

"What? No HAZMAT suits?" I asked, more as a distraction than anything else.

"Of course not sweetie, it's you're wedding." Mom turned to me with a smile, although the hard look in her eyes remained.

"Yeah, uh..." I glanced to Vlad, "I was a little worried you weren't going to show."

"Nonsense Danny. We wouldn't let a bitter past ruin such a good time." she smiled sickly sweet to me. I didn't miss the pass at Vlad.

"Mom-"

"I'm," Vlad interrupted, inching his way to the wall, "Just going to go somewhere else for a while." He gave me a last wane smile before walking through the wall, opting to take that alternative exit compared to pushing past my still glaring Dad.

Unsurprisingly, the moment he left both my parents began barraging me with irritating questions.

"Danny, are you sure you want him here?"

"Yeah, son, he's nothing but a backstabbing traitor."

"I'm sure Sam doesn't appreciate this."

"Don't you remember all those horrible things he did?"

If it was anyone else, I'd probably be screaming by now, but these were my parents, and they deserved a little patience. A little.

"Guys." my voice was hard, stopping them in their tracks.

"We've been over this. I'm not sending Vlad away. Sam is just fine with him being here, in fact, she suggested I invite him. I want him here, he's an important person in my life."

"An important person?" my Mom scoffed, "Danny, you remember what he did to you-"

"Yeah, I do remember. Quite clearly actually, and I've forgiven him. I'm the one person who should hate him the most, but I don't. He doesn't deserve your hatred, not anymore."

Mom and Dad didn't look convinced, and I couldn't help but sigh exasperatedly.

"Look, can't we all just get along this one day? I'm getting married. Surely there are more important things to worry about?"

They shuffled their feet, looking quelled for the most part.

"I suppose you're right sweetie." Mom said sheepishly, and then her face broke out into a grin.

"My little boy is getting married!" She squealed, throwing her arms around me and half laughing half sobbing into my shoulder.

"Ah-mom...I just...uh...thanks Mom." I pat her back patiently, giving my Dad a look.

He smiled sympathetically, finally relenting his grudge with Vlad for the moment and patting my back. Now usually, a Dad would say something profound or funny here, but mine has a mostly one track mind.

"Please tell me you didn't forget the fudge."

"No Dad, I didn't forget the fudge."


	3. 101 Morals

Alternative title: WWVD

Clever, no?

* * *

I guess some people worry about the Ghost boy's morals. After all, he is an unrestricted teenager flying around with an unknown amount of power behind his hands. What if, despite the fact that he runs himself ragged trying to save everyone, he's actually evil? He could very easily turn against us all and set the town on fire. How do we know he won't? What kind of morals does he set his afterlife by?

Well let me tell ya folks, it's really not that difficult.

I meet some of the nastiest ghosts you'll ever seen. Cruel prison wardens, jealous circus freaks, manipulating psychologists,pompous billionaires, and they all have a massive god complex. So as you can see, I get the whole package when it comes to evil. Hell, I even get to see a punky teenager that _does _use his powers for destruction, so I have a great example of what'll happen to me if I do too. Trust me, the last thing I wanna do is spend eternity running around on a motorcycle and having fights with an insane girlfriend.

Thus, I don't really understand why people would worry about my moral code. Maybe they think all the ghosts I fight will somehow influence me? I know a certain fruitloop sure hopes so. Maybe they think I'll get tired of playing the hero? If they keep up their ungrateful attitude I might. It gets really annoying sometimes, walking around town in my human form and hearing all the bogus rumors about my alter ego. Almost all of them are nothing but over exaggerated lies meant to stir up the public. Sometimes I think it's the town I save that'll make me go evil, I mean seriously.

Anyways, I guess I really can't blame them too much. People have a natural inclination to fear what they don't understand. Unfortunately ghosts fall into that category. I'd hate to see how they would react if they found out I'm actually half ghost. That would really throw their minds for a loop. Still, I wish my daily heroic acts would stop all the stupid lies and whispers. Why would I go through the trouble of saving a town I'm just going to destroy later? Come on people, use your brains.

My morals are actually very solid, contrary to popular belief. The only time I break them is during high school, but I personally believe high school is an automatic get-out-of-morals free card. After being shoved into a locker so many times, one does occasionally snap. I'm half ghost, not half angel.

It's when I'm up in the air protecting the ones I love that my morals really kick in. As I mentioned before, I'm faced with evil 24/7, whether is be in the form of ghosts or Lancer's homework. I know what becomes of those with a lack of morals. One particular enemy, who just so happens to be the _only _other member of the hybrid ghost species, has manged to make a lasting impression on my life. It's not one that he would like, but its certainly helped me whenever I come to an ethical crossroad in my life.

You see, whenever I have a conflict of morals, all I have to do is think "What would Vlad do?"

And then I do the opposite.


	4. 45 Hell

"I've got good news guys."

"What?"

"Vlad is no longer my arch nemesis."

"He's not?"

"No, math is. Specifically factoring."

Sam and Tucker shared a look, rolling their eyes skyward to my less than pleasant attitude and continuing down the sidewalk. A scowl firmly set in place, I followed behind them, lugging the massive weight of my backpack stuffed full of text books and homework. Looks like I wouldn't be sleeping tonight either.

"Danny, it's not that difficult." Sam looked back at me, shaking her head when the autumn wind blew her hair into her face.

"Yes it is. It takes me ten minutes just to figure out one stinking problem."

"That's because your dumber than Dash when it comes to mathematics."

"Thanks Tucker."

"I could help you if you want. How many problems do you have finished."

"Three."

"Danny! Mr. Morgan gave us thirty minutes to work on it in class!"

"I wasn't kidding when I said ten minutes, Sam."

She gave a huge sigh, falling silent for a moment before making another comment. A rather unnecessary comment, in my opinion.

"You know, it really isn't that hard."

"He assigned 84 problems Sam. _84 problems_! I managed to finish three in the half hour he gave us. Ya think, maybe, it's just a little hard for me?" I didn't mean to snap at her, but I was already running on low, having gotten only three hours of sleep last night on account of Skulker and his stupid new girlfriend, which is still gross.

"What are you shuddering about?" Tucker asked, raising an eye brow.

"Skulker and Ember." I muttered, still scowling.

Tucker's face turned into a grimace.

"I can't believe those two hooked up. How gross is that? Besides the fact that they're dead."

The corners of Sam's mouth twitched.

"So would that be under the classification of necrophilia or something else?"

"You would think about that kind of thing, Sam." Tucker looked, if even possible, more grossed out.

A short laugh slipped past my lips, momentarily lifting the dark could hovering over my head. Listening to Sam and Tucker's banter always cheered me up.

* * *

...well it had Vlad's name in it.


	5. 69 Candle

Martel pointed out that all my Vlad and Danny has been rather...depressing lately. Hopefully this will cheer you all up. :)

* * *

The sad thing about being a half ghost is that I never get anytime to myself. Someone always needs saving or there's always a new ghost butt to kick or, even better, some super villain decides it's time to try and take over the world again. Then, on the flip side, I'm also a teenager, dealing with the normal things that don't allow you to have anytime to yourself. Parents, overbearing sisters, parents, high school drama, and parents.

But tonight, oh tonight was _supposed _to be my once-in-a-blue-moon treat, my first real day off. No ghosts were attacking the town, homework was done (for once), and the parents were gone for the night. Even better, there was a freezing gale storming through the black sky and hail mixed snow was pelting to the ground. That meant no surprise visits from Jazz or any one else for that matter. Nope, I had the whole house to myself tonight. Finally, my chance to kick back and just relax.

And then Vlad had shown up.

I had been so comfortable too, wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket, bowl of popcorn in my hand and the latest zombie movie lighting up the dark living room. Then, out of nowhere, my precious popcorn was blasted across the room and his infuriating chuckle poisoned the pure sounds of zombie screams.

"Well, don't you look comfortable."

A more appropriate reaction would have been to jump up and prepare for a massive battle, but I was tired and more than a little pissed that this fruitloop was ruining my time _again. _After four years of putting up with him, one can only take so much. So I groaned, dragging an irritated hand down my face and gave him the most exasperated look I could muster.

"Come _on_, Vlad. Really? Do you have to annoy me tonight?"

He wasn't amused by my flippant attitude, which he clearly showed when he blasted me from the couch and sent me sailing into the kitchen. I grumbled to myself, grudgingly transforming into Phantom and preparing for another pointless fight. It was a good thing I did, cause not two seconds later a fist was suddenly sailing my way and I barely had time to shift into intangibility.

I still have no clue as to why Vlad had decided tonight of all nights to pick a fight with me. The icy blizzard should have hindered him at least a little bit. Aren't people like, more depressed and less likely to move during snow storms? But then again, Vlad's always a self-pitying, whiny, depressed jerk so I guess he's used to-

WHAM! A fist dug into my cheek bone, throwing me to the floor.

"Pay attention Daniel," he jeered from above me, laughing as I clutched my spinning head, "Try not to be too boring of an opponent, hm?"

I grit my teeth, feeling anger surge through me. All I frigging wanted was one night of peace.

"I'll show you boring." I muttered, pulling a swift back flip and clipping his jaw with my foot.

Vlad stumbled back, but quickly regained balance, not pausing for a second before he rushed after me. I ducked under his punch, phasing through the kitchen wall and taking cover in the living room. The movie was still playing, but I didn't have time to focus on that. He was behind me suddenly, pulling an old trick that I had always fallen for in my younger years.

"Nice try Vlad." I smirked, twisting around and grabbing his wrist before he could electrocute me. "But I'm not about to fall for that one again."

"Oh?" He raised an eye brow, a triumphant gleam in his eye.

I had seconds to ponder the meaning of his expression before two prongs jabbed into my back, several thousand volts pumping through my system and attacking my ghostly core like a missile. I gasped, feeling the hold on my ghost powers suddenly snap, instantly returning me to my scrawny human self. A clone of Vlad floated into my vision, holding up the Plasmius Maximus with a smug grin.

"Nice try, little badger." He buried a fist in my stomach, twisting his other hand around so _he_ was gripping _my_ wrist instead. "But it's looks like I've gotten the better of you yet again."

The air whooshed from my lungs; I doubled over immediately. Only Vlad's grip kept me from crumpling to the ground, but I didn't let that stop me just yet. With a raspy yell of anger, I thrust myself forward and head butted his gut. He gasped, dropping me and stumbling backwards. I took advantage of his pause and pounced, tackling him to the ground and landing a hit on his face.

Unfortunately, that was all I got. Vlad's red eyes flashed in anger and he quickly flipped us around. My back slammed into the floor and his weight pinned me down. Fists rained on my vulnerable face and I threw my arms up to protect myself as best I could.

"Christ, Vlad! Stop!" I yelled, blinking spots away when a third fist managed to get past my arms.

Suddenly a hand was wrapped around my throat, completely cutting off all airways. I choked on a gasp, digging my nails into his arm and desperately trying to thrust his weight off.

"One cannot simply call a time out in battle, dear boy." He said lightly, fingers tightening.

My head felt too light, the grip on his arms weakening. I felt as though my body was suddenly made of lead, lungs tightening painfully. I knew he wouldn't really kill me, but I couldn't stop the fear that started dancing up my limbs. I needed _air_!

"Vlad!" I managed to choke out, my pathetically begging voice embarrassing in my own ears.

He stared at me for a moment longer, the irritatingly pompous look on his face momentarily covering my fear with anger. But then his suffocating grip was gone and sweet sweet oxygen was rushing into my lungs, erasing every emotion but relief. He stood up, removing the pressure to my chest as well. Automatically, I turned on my side and coughed, desperately sucking in more air and throwing him furious glares.

Vlad stood above me, looking down at my pathetically defeated figure with that damn smirk. I looked away and forced myself to my knees, blood pounding in my ears.

"Well Daniel, now that we've finished the tedious part of my visit, perhaps we can move to the more productive aspect, yes?"

I didn't reply, trying to block out his arrogant tone. Why couldn't he just leave me alone, for once? He started talking again and I clenched my fists, glaring at the carpet and wishing he'd-

My eye caught something miraculous, something that blossomed hope in my chest. It was small, with two prongs and had Vlad's insignia plastered in bright red on the front of it. He must have dropped the Plasmius Maximus when I head butted him. A grin split on my face, payback blazing through my head. Too easy.

He was still jabbering away, giving his usual monologue with the same holier-than-thou pose, which means he wasn't looking at me. Like lightening I jumped for the little device, fingers closing around the handle before Vlad knew what was going on. I twisted around and stabbed him in the leg, making sure to press extra hard.

His speech cut off abruptly, interrupted by a pained shout of surprise and anger. I probably shouldn't have been as satisfied with my revenge as I was, but I couldn't help but revel in the gratifying surge that shot through me.

Only when the dark rings surrounded his midriff did I cut off the device, quickly scooting out of arms reach when he stumbled against the wall and was forced back into his human form. Vlad had to take a moment to catch his breathe, panting and leaning on his knees. I could feel the waves of anger radiating off him as he slowly stood up, standing up myself and taking a few steps back, preparing for a hand to hand dual.

"You...are going to regret that, little badger."

Harsh wind rattled the windows, snow obscured the outside world, turning the living room into a prison. His intimidating form was thrown into sharp relief by the light of the TV, fists clenched and a controlled fury swirling behind his eyes. He wasn't kidding.

"Ah crap." I muttered.

A minuscule smirk was all the warning I got before he was suddenly upon me, deftly avoiding every punch I managed to squeeze in and retaliating with three of his own. I'd gotten better at the hand to hand combat, but I was no where near his skill level. I was barely able to avoid his attacks, all my focus on avoiding his fists.

The battle stretched on. My fear was growing, the knowledge that I didn't have ghost powers to fall back on making me nervous. He didn't have ghost powers either, but as he once said to me a long time ago, it's not like he'd need them to take me out.

I was quickly running out of power, fatigue starting to get the best of me. Dodging his kicks became more difficult, and my arms were heavy from blocking. He threw me into the wall, pinning me down with his hands. I could barely move, but was able to bite down on his arm, jumping away from his grasp when he let go with a growl.

"This suit is worth more than your life boy. I suggest you not ruin it."

I didn't have time to reply, ducking to avoid his fist and rolling away when he tried to knock my feet out from under me. My back fell against the wall, breath coming in heaving gasps. How long had we been fighting? But I paused for a moment too long, allowing just enough time for Vlad to grab the collar of my shirt and throw me to the ground.

It was all over from there. His knee dug into my back, hand shoving my face into the ground. I scratched at the floor, furiously trying to push myself back up. Vlad's knee pressed harder and I groaned in pain, my struggles quelling. He leaned down, forcing my head to the side so he could look me in the eye.

"Are you quite finished, yet?"

I was tempted to spit in his face, but that probably would have landed me in a worse hell. Instead, I glared, wishing every painful death imaginable upon him and that damn smirk. Vlad rose an eye brow at my seething silence, not moving until I stopped struggling.

"There," he leaned up, although his knee was still digging into my back. "That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"Vlad...Get...off...me!" I rasped, the pressure on my chest making it hard to breathe again.

He didn't of course, picking up his stupid monologue where he left off. I was stuck listening, unable to escape or come up with clever plots because his knee was _still digging into my back!_

"As I was saying before you rudely interrupted me, graduation is a mere five months away and the deadline for applications to the University of Wisconsin is quickly approaching."

"You ambush me out of no where just to try and convince me to go to your stupid old college!? What the hell is wrong with you!?"

A hand wrapped around the back of my neck, charged full of electricity and sending me into spasms. He continued on as though I hadn't spoken.

"I've noticed that you haven't made any move to apply to colleges. Not a smart move, dear boy, with your grades early applications would have been to your best advantage. Luckily for you, I have a great deal of influence at UW, and could easily get you in free of charge."

"We've been through this Plasmius! There's no way in-"

The lights flickered suddenly, a low whine ascended all around us, growing to a dull roar. The wall of snow storming outside shook the windows violently. Me and Vlad looked around, him in displeased curiosity and me in alarm. The dull roar reached a climatic din and suddenly every light and electrical appliance in the house instantly shut off, plunging us into darkness.

Perfect.

"You've got to be kidding me." I tried to get up, but Vlad was still holding me down.

"Don't your parents have a back up generator?" He asked, his voice floating from the darkness above.

"Yeah," I grunted, pointedly squirming my back. He didn't get the hint. "But I think that's been shot too. Dad keeps it outside because it's so big."

"Genius." He was rolling his eyes, I could tell.

"Would you get off me!" I shouted, tired of not being able to breathe.

Vlad sighed, forcing himself up and relieved the pressure on my spine. I sucked in a sweet lungful of air, pushing to my knees and cracking my back. I think Vlad was standing next to me, a contemplative silence surrounding him.

"Hm. Well this is irritating."

"No? You think?" I snapped, staggering to my feet and rubbing my back.

"You seem to misunderstand, Daniel. I came here through the portal, and with the portal temporarily off line I have no way home through this blizzard."

Oh you've got to be shi-

"Which means I'm stuck here."

I gapped for a moment, the final tip of the ice burg throughly crushing this miserable night. Why couldn't things ever work out for me? Did being half ghost really mean I attracted all the possible bad luck in the world? Perhaps Johnny's shadow was around...

"Daniel?"

"What?" I snapped, my tone icy.

"No need to be so rude, little badger." He actually had the nerve to sound affronted.

"Shut up Vlad. I was just fine to spend the evening relaxing by myself for once, but you just had to barge in and ruin it for me. And for what? More college crap? I'm not leaving Amity Park, I'm not going to your stupid college, and I'm not going to live in your creepy mansion!"

Okay, so now I was just flat out whining, which is why I wasn't surprised when Vlad grabbed my arm in an iron grip and slapped me across the face.

"Get hold of yourself Daniel, and stop this incessant whining. Your eighteen years old."

I jerked my arm out of his grip, blushing furiously cause I knew he was right but was still too angry to care. However, me being angry at a fruitloop like him wasn't going to help matters, cause lord knows his temper is just as bad as mine. I took a deep breath, running my fingers through my hair and letting out a sigh. I had to get over this. So my night was going to be spent dealing with Vlad. Worse things have happened, right?

"Come on. I think we have some flash lights in the lab." I muttered, looking around blindly for a moment before carefully stepping around the area Vlad was and picking my way through the living room.

I heard his foot steps behind me, following as I tried to gage where the lab door was. Hopefully, it was closed, otherwise I'd probably end up tripping down the stairs. Thankfully, my outstretched fingers ran into the heavy metal doors, and I yanked it open, pitch blackness the only thing meeting my eyes.

"You know, this would be a lot easier if I had my ghost powers." I commented, slowly descending the stairs and praying Dad hadn't left any weapons or goo messes laying out.

"Well if you didn't have such a bad habit of shooting me on sight, I wouldn't have to worry about using the Plasmius Maximus so much. And you shocked me too, little badger, so don't think this is any easier on me." his hard voice gave away the wounded pride, making me grin. It wasn't often that I caught Vlad by surprise.

When my feet finally touched the ground floor, I must have spent ten minutes bumbling around the lab and running into things. I told Vlad to stay by the stairs, since a) he didn't know his way around and would likely break something catastrophic and b) I didn't want to give him a chance to pilfer through my parents lab, even if it was pitch black down here. He had responded to my reasonings with a laugh, saying,

"Wouldn't you be the one to break something catastrophic?"

My fruitless search yielded nothing more than bruised shins and three candles, all the flashlights missing their batteries. My Dad probably took the batteries apart or something, cause my fingers brushed over something that felt suspiciously like pieces of battery, but I didn't tell Vlad that.

"Do you have any matches?" he asked when I handed him a candle.

"I think we have some in the kitchen."

It wasn't very fun, leading Vlad through my house in the darkness, unable to see my own hand in front of my face. To say I was a little uneasy was an understatement. My mind kept bring up all the horrible things he could do from his position behind me, the first and foremost being a quick trip to the carpet for his malicious amusement. One learns to be paranoid when dealing with Vlad for so long.

Lucky for me, our unfortunate predicament seemed to have pulled out his more merciful side, and he didn't try to trip me as we made our way into the kitchen. I rummaged through the drawers and cabinets, fingers glossing over junk and dishes like little antennas. The vague light from the blurry kitchen window revealed Vlad's dark silhouette leaning against the table, his arms crossed.

"A-ha. Here they are." I mumbled, grasping the small matchbox from a junk drawer before it could swim away.

A quick hiss sounded through the quiet room and suddenly an orange glow was thrown across the counter tops. I turned to Vlad with a triumphant smile and I saw a small, amused smirk slide onto his face. He pushed himself up from the table and walked over to me, holding the candle wick under the flame.

"Congratulations Daniel. You can light a match."

"I know, I'm a genius." I lit another, about to light the other two candles when I stopped.

"Let's save these for later. I don't know how long the electricity will be out and these candles won't last forever." I blew the match out.

"I'm impressed, you're thinking ahead." And indeed, he really did look a little impressed. I think that was more insulting than anything, though.

I rolled my eyes, motioning to the living room and following his candlelight as he led the way. With the lack of furious adrenaline rush and a meager light to help me see, I got a first good look at what our earlier fight had done to the living room, and it wasn't pretty.

"Ugh. What a mess."

One of the lamps had fallen over and the light bulb had shattered. Popcorn was strewn across the floor and several blankets were haphazardly throw around the room. A small dent in the wall indicated where my back once made an impact and a fallen floor plant showed where Vlad had stumbled.

"Perhaps we should work on considering better battle grounds."

"Hey, you're the one that attacked me. Maybe you just shouldn't bother me so much."

"Always have to keep you on your toes, little badger." He grinned down at me.

"Believe me Vlad, the rest of the ghosts already have that covered."

"Nonsense. They can't keep you alert like I can." He said in a smug voice, plucking one of the remaining candles from my light grasp and walking over to the table.

You know, Vlad had a decent point there. I'd never stopped to consider it, but maybe my battles with him do offer more than the usual butt-kicking, time-wasting deal. Well, no, usually he does just waste my time, but in a different way. All the other ghosts I fight either scream out their plans or are way too easy to figure out. Vlad's the only opponent that I actually have to think with. I wasn't sure if that was good or just annoying. Probably both. At least, through my experiences with him, I actually learn things, at the very least how to be a better fighter. That was something my other opponents couldn't offer.

I shook my head, clearing the weird thoughts to focus back on Vlad. He was definitely correct in saying he keeps me alert. I watched as he let several drops of melted wax collect in the middle of the coffee table, quickly pressing the lit candle into the hot pool and hardening it to the wood.

"Be careful not to knock it over. It's not a very strong hold." he stood straight, handing me the now lumpy-bottomed candle.

The small orange glow provided just enough light to allow us a quick clean up. Vlad helped, which only made me think of how funny our relationship was again. One second we're tearing each other's throats out and the next we're singing the clean up song together. There really wasn't much we could do about the dent in the wall, so I pulled my clever trick of moving the couch several inches to cover it up. But unfortunately that revealed another, older dent in the wall from a previous fight. Vlad moved the floor plant to cover that one up.

It wasn't long before the popcorn and light bulb shards were in the garbage, the lamp returned to it's rightful place, and the blankets folded nicely on the couch. I sat back into the sofa, Vlad coming to sit next to me. Usually, one would have been alarmed if their arch-nemisis came to languidly sit next to them on a couch, but as I mentioned before, me and Vlad have a funny relationship. And right now, being stuck with the temporary future of no electricity and no ghost powers left us one thing we both had in common.

We were both really bored.

"I'm guess you don't have any books in this house?"

"If you count Jazz's encyclopedias and forty pound psychological dictionaries as books."

"You don't read, Daniel?" He looked at me.

"I barely have time to pass high school. Light reading isn't at the top of my priority list."

"Hm." he leaned back into the couch. "Pity."

We sat in silence for a while longer, imagining the tick of a clock to fill the silence. A cold shiver ran through me, the lack of heat in the house already starting to affect me. I frowned, grabbing one of the blankets and wrapping it around my shoulders.

"Are you cold?" has asked, incredulous because he probably couldn't feel the slight temperature shift like I could.

"It's my ice powers. I always freeze during the winter." As if on cue, my teeth started to chatter lightly. I scowled.

"That would explain why your thermostat is set at 90 degrees during the colder months." he smirked.

"Yep."

More silence, more boredom. I never realized how much background noise my parent's wacky inventions made. Vlad seemed lost in thought, a distant look in his eye as he ignored me. I sat their, shivering and considering lighting a second candle for a little heat.

"Do you intend to go to college, Daniel?"

I held back an exasperated sigh, wondering if now was when he was gonna start pelting me with reasons as to why I should go to UW again.

"Maybe a community college. Depends if I can get in."

He stared out the window for a moment longer before turning to look at me, staring with such a strong gaze that my defenses instinctively jumped up.

"What?" I asked, giving him a guard look.

"You're very intelligent Daniel. It wouldn't be difficult for you to get into a decent school."

I didn't quite know what to say to that, a light blush coloring my cheeks at his words. Vlad doesn't compliment me often, so I always know I deserve them when he does happen to give them to me. Again, another weird thing about our relationship.

"It's too late," I argued when I found my voice. "I know I could have done better, but applying myself these past four years took a second seat when there were people to save."

Vlad didn't reply to that, but I caught the sympathy in his eyes before that contemplative gaze took over. I think I'm the only person in the past twenty three years whose been able to pull some sympathy from him. Kinda cool really. It reminds me that Vlad isn't as heartless as he often appears.

"Luckily for you," he began in his arrogant tone again, "I happen to know how intelligent you are, and when you're living with me and attending UW, you'll have ample time to catch up with your studies."

"I'm not going to the University of Wisconsin, Vlad." I said in a flat voice, good feelings for him gone as quick as they had come.

"Oh, Daniel," he sighed, shaking his head forlornly. "You know that I always get what I want. Why bother fighting?"

"Because you need me to remind you how you _don't _always get what you want, Vladdie. I'm not going to UW. End of story."

He was quiet, half glaring at me and half pouting. I smirked, pulling the blanket up closer and snuggling in.

"Humor me Daniel. Why not?" he asked, tone innocent. For once.

"Hmm?" I slowly turned to look at him.

"Why not attend UW?"

"Because the monthly visits I get from you already is bad enough."

"So it's not the college your impartial to, it's living with me?"

"Duh."

"Why?"

I gave him a look, hiding a slight shiver of cold and reaching out to grab another blanket before I answered.

"Don't tell me you've happened to forget our violent history, Vlad. I know you're old, but jeez, Alzheimer's shouldn't set in for another few years or so, right?"

"Ha ha, Daniel. It's a shame you never grew out of your droll sense of humor." he rolled his eyes and then stared at me, "But I suppose you do have a point. Our past is a slight barrier in my plans."

"Slight?"

"Oh come now, Daniel. I haven't tried to _seriously _harm you in almost a year now. I've simply been keeping you on your toes, as I said before."

"Don't care. Still caused hell. What about that time you almost revealed my secret to my parents?"

"That was an accident, one I even apologized for."

"Yeah, but it still doesn't change the fact that my parents are more suspicious than ever."

In a very undignified way, he exhaled sharply in what can only be described as a two year olds pout, expression set in a thoughtful scowl. I smirked and shook my head, bunching the blankets around my neck.

"Perhaps if we reach a certain agreement, you will reconsider?" he asked after a long silence.

"Explain."

"You agree to live with me and attend UW, and I'll train you in the use of your ghost powers free of charge."

Hm.

It was a tempting offer, I'll give him that. I still can't fully control my powers, at least not like he can. He's always had the upper hand in battle, something he often likes to point out. Yet, he's never budged in his price. Not until now at least. He must really want me to live with him.

"Why do you want me to live with you so badly anyways?" I grumbled, more as a way to stall answering his proposition.

"Well because I enjoy your company, little badger." He said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You need a girl friend, buddy."

He whacked me in the back of the head, laughing sharply.

"Oh dear boy, you know your mother is the only one for me."

"Okay, I don't care how old I get, that will always be creepy." I scowled, rubbing the back of my head and shooting him foul glares.

He smiled down at me until I relented my stubborn anger with a sigh, shoulders dropping as I realized I couldn't avoid answering his question forever.

If I really thought about it, what he was offering me was the best chance I could ever hope for. Not only would I actually be able to get _into _a decent college, but it would be free. I'd have all the money I'd ever need at my disposal, even if I chose to never take advantage of it, and a certain powerful billionaire behind me to back me up if-heaven forbid-I ever needed it. Not only that, but he'd teach me how to use my powers efficiently free of charge, something I've been wishing for since the day I got them four years ago. I'd probably be really stupid to turn his offer down. I mean, for once, he was offering me a great deal without some sneaky little plot set behind it. At least I hope so.

I guess what was really giving me a hard time about saying no was the expressions on my parent's faces. I could already see the disappointment in their eyes if I told them I planned on going to a community college, or worse, no college at all. They'd be devastated, or worse, they might even be expecting it.

And it's not like I haven't dealt with Vlad before, right? Even if he is planning something, I'm sure I can handle it. And if he really isn't planning anything, then I've got myself a stress free, secret free life ahead of me. He does have a point, he really hasn't tried to _seriously _kill me in almost a year. Coming from Vlad, he might as well of transformed into the next Mother Theresa. Maybe he really was just lonely.

"You promise you'll stop trying to maim Dad?" I asked after my long pause.

"Promise." He said, no hesitation. I turned and looked at him with a serious expression.

"Just like that? I'm serious Vlad, if I hear about one plot to kill him or anything else, I'm done."

"Daniel, I promise you, I won't try anything against your father." he said, all the sincerity I've ever heard from him in his voice. I could tell, in his own subtle way, he was on the edge of his seat, waiting to hear a yes from me.

"Or Mom?" I decided to push my luck. He hesitated here.

"...or your mother." His voice was much more subdued.

"Really?" I blinked. I didn't actually expect him to say yes.

"Really."

Well this was new. Perhaps he really wasn't lying about anything then. He wouldn't have hesitated if he was just going to lie. Did he honestly mean to say he was going to give up Mom for me? I don't know if that was creepy or touching.

"...I'll think about it." I still had to be careful though.

"Well," he sighed, a wane smile on his face, "At least it's not a no."

"There you g-go Vlad. Way to think of the p-positives. Ah c-crap." I scowled, the temperature drop finally becoming drastic enough to affect my speech.

"Hm," Vlad shivered a bit himself, looking out the icy window. "It is getting rather chilly in here, isn't it."

"A b-bit." I said, smirking slightly.

Vlad looked down at my shivering, blanketed, chattering form with an amused smile, rolling his eyes before pulling me closer.

"Come here."

An embarrassing little squeak managed to make it's way past my lips as Vlad pulled the covers away and pulled me against him, laying down on the couch with me on top of him. I felt a blush rise up, but didn't protest when he brought the covers back over top of us, sealing in the warmth.

"Um...thanks." I murmured, deciding not to fight and just relaxing on his chest. He was actually quite warm.

I heard him chuckle from above me, probably at the blush still on my face. A hand rested on my back, and Vlad's light voice floated down to my ears.

"I have a much warmer core than you Danny. A side effect of my own power over electricity."

"Oh. Well that explains a lot." I smirked to myself, a lot of 'hot head' jokes coming to mind.

"Let me guess," he said in a droll voice, "You're thinking of all the jokes you intend to use on me, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah."

Vlad shook his head, mumbling something about teenagers. I chuckled to myself, yawning and snuggling closer to Vlad's warm chest. He was like my own personal heater.

"I'm guessing you're parents won't be here till morning."

"Nope." There was no way they would be able to get through his blizzard.

He was silent for a while, lost in thought I assumed. I played with a button on his shirt, my mind drifting back to thoughts of college. My parents would be really disappointed if I didn't go.

"Hey Vlad?"

"Hm?"

"What are the majors as UW?"

"You'd be attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and they offer about 155 degree programs. They have an excellent school of business, but I'm sure you're more interested in the science and engineering departments, yes?"

"Well, yeah, but it's not like I can go to school for that. I've never even taken physics." I frowned.

"You'd have to take several remedial classes, of course, and your schooling might take longer because of it, but with the right application I see no reason as to why you can't major in science and engineering and go on to become an astronaut, as you've always wanted. Or at the very least, find a career within NASA."

I really wanted to believe what Vlad was saying, but I'd long since accepted that my hope to become an astronaut was nothing more than a pipe dream. I'd never even get past physical inspection, thanks to my ghost half.

"Thanks Vlad, but there's no way I'm gonna be an astronaut." I sighed, propping my head up on his chest to look at him. "I might be able to make the grades, and even get the right military background, but I'm still half ghost. If I try and get into NASA, they'll find out right away."

Vlad looked at me thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow.

"You know there's an easy way around that."

"Yes, but unlike you, I have morals. Which means no bribing or overshadowing people." I smirked.

"Hm. Pity. You could go far if you'd simply use your powers to your advantage, my dear boy."

"Yeah, like stealing from innocent people to become the worlds most powerful billionaire." I frowned at him pointedly.

"Exactly."

"We need to adjust your morals, Vlad." I said flatly, returning to my comfortable position against his chest.

He didn't answer, but I caught his eyebrows crease slightly as he thought about something. "Perhaps..." he mumbled quietly, almost too quite for me too hear, which was saying something.

I almost looked up at him with an incredulous look, intending to tease him on the suspicion that maybe he has a conscious after all. But instead, I just stayed where I was, keeping my thoughts to myself because really, that wasn't something that should be teased about. Maybe Vlad really does struggle with morals, after not having any for over twenty years. But why would he care about having them now? Maybe...maybe it was because of me. Honestly, it seems he has an easier time showing his nicer colors when I'm around. At least when we're not fighting. Maybe that's why he wants me to live with him so badly.

"Hey Vlad?"

"Yes, Daniel."

"...When do I need to send in the application?"

I felt him freeze beneath me, leaning up on his elbows with barely constrained excitement in his eyes.

"Do you mean to say...?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go to UW and live with you. Just don't be so dramatic about it."

I seriously think he wanted to hug me.


	6. 102 Fanfiction

Ugh, this starts out like number 45. Darn it, I think my fics are starting to bleed together. -__-*

Oh, and I decided to pull a 102 dalmations thing. You know, 101 dalmations, 101 drabble challenge. Except now its 102 drabble challeng like...like 102...dalmantions, see?...

Okay, I'll shut up now.

* * *

I dragged my backpack up the stairs, staggering under it's weight and nearly falling over the banister a few times.

"Jeez Danny, Lancer is gonna be the death of you here soon." Tucker's voice floated up from behind me, although I noticed he made no effort to help me.

"Yeah and when his obituary is in the papers we can blame you for letting him fall to said death." Sam stuck her tongue out at him, coming to my aide and helping me heave the heavy back pack up the last few stairs.

Tucker shrugged, flashing me a brief apologetic grin before gently placing his PDA in a baggy pocket and reaching down to help out. With the combined efforts of three kicking teenagers, we managed to force the bag down the hall and into my room, heaving the Goliath next to the bed with panting breathes.

"Dude," Tucker breathed, "I feel so bad for you."

I scowled at him, blowing a stray hair out of my face and dragging myself to the bed.

"Thanks Tuck."

He fell beside me on the bed, heaving a deep sigh that probably would have been more appropriate coming from me.

"Ghost powers are a bitch man." he shook his head forlornly.

"No kidding?"

"Oh, stop whining, you babies." Sam put her hands on her hips, staring down at our relaxed postures.

"Sam, I just lugged a two ton backpack up a flight of stairs! Have a little sympathy!" Tucker gapped, outraged.

"You didn't do anything, you lazy techo geek." I turned and laughed at him, "You almost let me die!"

"Way to be melodramatic, Danny." Tucker rolled his eyes, pulling out his PDA again.

I fell back into the pillows with a sigh, glancing up at Sam to see her content smile. She looked at me after a moment, and then her eyes trailed over to the stuffed bag and back to me pointedly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll do it." I waved a hand flippantly, a yawn taking over.

"Eventually."

"Sure ya' will Danny." Sam rolled her eyes, turning and walking towards my computer.

"Hey, where'ya goin?" I sat up, frowning.

"Um, your computer." she sat in the chair, spinning it around to face me, "Don't worry Danny. I wouldn't leave you to all that homework on your own."

"Thanks Sam." I smiled, falling back into the pillow now that I was sure my tutor/answer provider wasn't leaving.

"You sure are lucky you have us, dude." Tucker spoke up next to me, eyes glued to the small screen. "You'd, like, fail everything without us."

"Not _everything_." I protested. "I'm not half bad a science."

"Sure, as long as were talking about space." Sam threw in her two cents.

I yawned again, the bed becoming more and more comfortable as I laid upon it.

"Ah, whatever Sam," I said through the loud groan. "As long as Amity's safe, who cares if I get a C in Math."

"I'm pretty sure colleges will care. Not to mention your parents."

I frowned at her logic, not liking it even though it was the truth. Well, sorta the truth. What college would get mad about my scores if I don't apply? Something told me Sam would heavily object to my no college choice though, so I kept it to myself.

"I downloaded todays English lecture onto my PDA during my study period. Good thing Lancer is lame enough to post them on the school website. I can down load them to your computer if you want, for extra reference."

"Couldn't I just get on the school website myself and get the lecture notes without all the trouble?"

"Danny, I'm a techno geek. As pathetic as it seems to you, going through all this trouble is my idea of fun."

"Ah. Well then sure, down load away."

"Sweet!"

Tucker jumped up from the bed, skidding to a halt next to Sam with an excited expression on his face. He paused in his mission though, staring at the monitor with confusion.

"Fanfiction? Really Sam?"

"What?" She glared at him, a stubborn gleam in her eye, "What's wrong with fanfiction? There are some really good writers on here, you know."

"Uh huh, sure." He muttered, lining up his PDA and wirelessly downloading the file to my computer.

"Just because you don't know how to read." she muttered back, returning to her stories.

"What? I know how to read!" he protested, actually looking offended. "I just don't want to read-" he squinted at the screen, "-Teen Titans fanfiction."

"Teen Titans?" I sat up. "I love that show."

"Ha! See?" Sam leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms triumphantly.

"See what? Danny, would you ever actually read Teen Titan fanfics?" He asked, sounding as though he fully expected me to say no.

"You mean if I didn't have ghost powers and several weeks of late homework to work on? Sure, why not." I shrugged, smirking when his jaw fell open slightly.

"What? Seriously? No way! I mean why would anyone want-"

"Shut up Tucker, we know you read'em too." I grinned. "You just get all antsy about it cause you like to read the PWPs."

"I do not!"

"Wow, you're almost as bad at lying as Danny." Sam laughed, "And that's saying something."

Tucker gapped for a few moments, throwing glares at me and Sam before finally giving up, shoulder sagging and a sedated scowl on his pouting face.

"Aw, come on Tuck, don't be mad." I was still grinning, "Everyone reads them once or twice."

"They usually don't have a hundred copies secretly downloaded onto their PDA though." Sam muttered. Tucker's head snapped up and he shot her a glare, although I noticed he didn't deny her claim.

I laughed a bit, shaking my head and falling back into the pillows. Sam turned the chair back to the monitor, resting her head in her hand and going back to the fanfics. I stretched my aching back, feeling a recent bruise ache a bit. I should probably get started on my homework, but I really didn't want to face Lancer's stupid essays. Although, if I wanted to keep the B I had in his class, putting it off any longer probably wouldn't be a good idea. My parents would flip if my report card came home with a C in Math _and _English.

Naturally, my thoughts drifted from there, leading me to think about the most pointless of things as I procrastinated my homework. Mom and Dad weren't getting home till late. It's a shame Jazz is off at college. She could make us dinner or something.

I glanced over at Tucker, but he was still fiddling with his PDA. I smirked to myself, laughing at the questionable content of the little hand held. The silence that settled across the room was relaxing, unfortunately though, it was also putting me to sleep. I stifled another yawn, finally forcing myself up despite my fatigue. If I fell asleep now I'd never get my homework done.

Sam laughed at something in the story and a few minutes later leaned back in her chair with a secretive smile still lingering on her face. Curiosity got the best of me, and I couldn't help but question her amusement.

"What's so funny, Sam?" I asked, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"This story. People write some weird shit on this site."

"Tell me about it! One time-" Tucker instantly froze mid-sentence, quickly breaking off his comment and turning his head back to his PDA with incoherent mutterings.

Me and Sam glanced at each other, breaking into subdued snickers that earned us a few more glared from Tuck.

"You weren't reading any pairings, were you?" I asked, curious.

"No, pairings are lame. Well, the canon pairings are at least. I hate those things."

"Yeah, yeah. We know all about your crack pairing fetish. And you think _I _read weird shit..." Tucker grumbled.

"What?" Sam pouted defensively, "At least the slash is more interesting than the normal stuff. It actually has the potential to be something beyond mush and gush, given you have a decent writer behind the scenes."

"I dunno Sam. That all depends on what the fanfic is about." I said, getting into the topic of conversation.

"What? Slash?"

"Dude! Don't tell me you read that stuff too!" Tucker made a face of disgust.

"Wha-No! I mean the mushy gushy fics. Sometimes they suck such cause the fandom itself just sucks."

"Oh, so you read the mushy gushy fics." he grinned, the vindictive gleam in his eye making me nervous.

"No, I just...it's really a given! I mean seriously? How could anybody write a decent romance story with something like Sponge Bob. That'd just be weird."

"Uh huh. Sure Danny."

"Tucker, seriously, I-"

"It's okay Dude. You don't have to explain to me what you do behind closed doors."

"Tucker. You're the one who masturbates to pr0n, not me."

"Shut up Danny."

Just as a potential pillow/dirty clothes war was about to break out between me and my poorly misguided friend, Sam jumped up from the computer chair with an audible gasp, staring open mouthed at the screen.

"Sam? What's wrong?" I quickly walked over to her to check out the monitor.

"Someone bash your favorite pairing again?" Tucker quickly followed, looking to me with a smirk but then stopping when he say my expression.

"No. Way."

Tucker looked down and instantly started cracking up laughing, going so far as to hold his shaking gut.

"Dude!" He gasped, "You're a fanfiction!"

I blinked at the screen for a full thirty seconds, an odd feeling in my stomach. Quickly, I looked around and grabbed another chair, pulling it next to Sam and taking control of the mouse.

"Whoa." I whispered, looking at the many different stories as I scrolled through them.

"There must be at least two thousand..." Sam gapped.

"How long as this been here?"

"Dunno. I was just playing around with the search bar and came across this. It looks like Danny Phantom is labeled under books though, so that might be why we've never seen it."

"Wait. You're in a book?" Tucker looked at me.

"Um...my parents have mentioned the ghost boy being in, like, paranormal accounts and weird, ghost hunting guides and stuff. I didn't think people would actually write stories about me though."

"Dude." Tucker breathed, a slow grin breaking out on his face. "This is so cool!"

"Uh, actually, it's kinda weird." I scrunched up my face, coming across one with a summary about my ghost half falling in love with the writer and having many babies.

"Ugh." Sam rolled her eyes at the summary, "There's got to be some good ones on here. Come on, lets look."

We must have spent an hour going through the many different Danny Phantom fics, some going in depth about my personal after life and some imagining different ways I died. That was a popular subject. So far, Tucker's favorite one was death by diseased rabbit. I cringed when we came upon the sappy ones that had me paired with a freaky OC/ the writer. Tucker thought they were funny and took it upon himself to read them out loud.

"...And I awoke to Phantom's piercing green eyes, looking into the depths of my soul like no human could. I felt my heart flutter, knowing without a doubt, that I was experiencing nothing less than true lo-"

"Shut up Tucker!"

Some of them were actually kind of interesting. I liked the ones that had me fighting along side "The Red Huntress". Obviously, some of these writers were from Amity Park itself if they knew her. Or was Valarie's reputation spreading just as rapidly as mine? Unfortunately, we were usually teamed up to destroy half the town or go on to take over the world.

"Well, at least Valarie's in character." Sam said dryly.

The normal romance ones, or the ones not full of Mary-Sues or fourth wall defying writers, were weird. Even if they were written well (cause Tucker just had to read them), they were still weird. Usually I was paired up with Ember, which got my gag reflex going just by thinking about it. A couple other favorites were Kitty and Spectra. It was completely messed up.

"Oh, come on Danny. It could be worse. You could be paired up with a man." Tucker slapped a hand on my back.

Sam suddenly sat up a little straighter, an odd gleam in her eye and an evil smile breaking out on her face.

"Sam...?" I asked warily, knowing I probably wouldn't be able to stop any nefarious plot she had going on, and wondering if maybe I should just dig my head under a pillow now.

She cackled impishly, fingers flying across the board. Tucker quickly caught on when he read 'slash' in the search box and he quickly started laughing too. Apparently, he was still a little miffed about the PWP comments.

"Come on guys..." I whined pitifully.

"Ew! The Box Ghost!?" Tucker cracked up.

"What? No way!" I instantly glared at the screen, eyes speeding over the little summary. Sure enough...

"Okay, that's just gross."

"I bet we haven't seen nothing yet." Sam grinned excitedly. She was really getting a kick out of this.

I buried my face in my hands, knowing the best thing to do was just wait till they were done. The stubborn streak my friends had often worked at a disadvantage to me.

"Look! They've even got names for a few of the parings." Sam pointed at the screen.

"I don't want to hear it." I moaned.

"Ha! Danny! They've got a few of you with Skulker!"

I stuck my fingers in my ears, but the damn trick wasn't working.

"It's called 'Callous Quarry'. Weird, it kinda fits though." Sam shrugged her shoulders conversationally.

"Okay guys, seriously, can we just stop-"

"Hey look, another one."

"Yeah, this one's really popular. The name's weird though. Pompous Pep? What the heck does that mean?"

"I don't know and I don't ca-"

"Dude! They've got you with Plasmius!"

"WHAT!"

Sam and Tucker burst into laughter at my horrified face, practically rolling on the floor. I spun around to the monitor, almost sure that they had to be lying. There was no way I was paired with-

I swallowed, a really sick feeling in my stomach as I read a few summaries.

"That...is so wrong."

My stupid friends were still laughing. I turned from them in disgust, trying to make it clear that I was not amused. Tucker, oblivious to my furious, blushing scowl, dragged himself to the computer. To my horror he clicked on one of the stories and started reading it out loud.

"Phantom couldn't bite back a moan, writhing against the older ghost as Plasmius dragged his tongue along-"

"Tucker! Shut! Up!" I yelled, blushing all the way up to my ears as I lunged for the computer.

He and Sam burst out into renewed laughs as I quickly shut down the stupid fan site, vowing to never read fan fiction again.

"Some people are creepier than Vlad." I muttered.

"Oh come on Danny," Sam chided, "Just because some people are into gay necrophilia doesn't mean their creepy." she wiped a tear from her eye, grinning.

"What are you talking about? _Of course _it means their creepy! Especially if their using me as part of their fantasies!" I felt my eye twitch.

"Actually Sam, as funny as that was, I gotta agree with Danny here. That's just weird." Tucker, thankfully, saw things my way. Although he was still laughing.

"Eh. To each his own." Sam shrugged, and then fell into renewed giggles, "But seriously, you should have seen your _face_."

* * *

Sorry guys, but as much as I adore Pompous Pep, you gotta admit it, it is rather creepy. Good thing none of us care! :D

Long live VladxDanny!


	7. 73 Fire

Wow. Found this ancient thing on my hard drive. TUE failed to explain Dan's creation and Vlad's house exploding, so I made up my own version. Unfortunately, it kinda sucks. Whatever, I just got my wisdom teeth pulled, so if I'm suffering you shall too! Bwhahahahaha!

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Positive."

I stared at Daniel for a moment longer, my face drawn in a long frown. He looked dead: pale white face, deep sunken eyes and a tangible, withered soul. Though his expression was blank, he couldn't hide the dull eyes wrought with an internal agony, just as I couldn't pretend to know what he was going through. I may have lost Maddie to that horrible explosion, but he lost everyone.

"Vlad." he croaked.

Blinking and shaking my head slightly, I brought myself back to the present time. Wordlessly, I tied a laytex apron over my blouse and snapped a mask over my nose and mouth. Danny was motionless on the cold metal table, waiting. I stared at the gas mask in my hand for a moment, wondering if I would regret this later. After all, who knew what would happen if I eliminated Danny's painful human emotions.

I couldn't deny him though, not when he's visibly in so much agony. I just wanted to see him smile again. Sighing deeply, I walked over to him, unable to stop myself as I gently pet his hair. He looked over to me, the void in his eyes saying nothing. One last stroke and I put the mask over his face, hoping I wouldn't regret it.

"It'll all be over soon, little badger." I whispered to him, and a ghost of a smile seemed to cross his lips as he fell under the anesthesia.

He was out like a light, only the heart monitor alerting me to his condition. I tried not to think it, but without the constant slow beep, I would have thought he were a corpse lying there. I turned away and snapped on the ghost gauntlets, a miserable expression still on my face. Daniel had surprised me with these things, apparently having gone to the empty house in Amity Park to retrieve them from his parents old lab, babbling on and on about how they could fix him. It had taken a bit of convincing, but I'd eventually caved in to his begging.

I turned to the sleeping body, his chest slowly rising with each long breath he took. He was oblivious, lying there in total innocence. The chemically induced sleep preventing anymore nightmares from plaguing his dreams. I briefly wondered if this was the first time he'd slept peacefully since he arrived at my mansion three months ago.

I resumed the task at hand, pushing my pointless thoughts away and clicking the gauntlets into place. In one fluid movement, ten long glowing claws shot out from the fingertips of the gloves, casting an eerie glow on Daniel's sleeping form. I marveled at them for a moment, feeling a grudging respect for the man who helped build these. In the palm of my hand, I had the ability to tear the very life essence out of a normal human being, and in the case of a half ghost, I had so much more.

Casting an almost nervous look to Daniel, I rose the sharp claws over his chest, feeling slightly sick at what I was about to do. I had to keep reminding myself that the claws would pierce Phantom, not Fenton. They gleamed maliciously in the meager lab light. Daniel slept peacefully, unaware of the threat hanging over his heart. I harden my resolve, knowing this was for Daniel, and plunged the knives into his chest.

There was no scream, as one would expect, but I could feel his ghost form writhing beneath the claws as I struggled to pull it from Daniel's body. I almost couldn't look, seeing his shirt start to bleed ectoplasm where the claws were embedded in his torso. But Daniel continued to sleep, completely unaware. I pulled as hard as I could, feeling the spirit fight and struggle to remain connected to his human half. At last, with a final tug, I ripped the smoking entity from Daniel's body, the cool limp ghost dangling from the claws impaling its torso.

I stared at it in wonder, my curiosity captured. The raw echo before me was made up of violently swirling ectoplasm, the smoke rolling off it in waves telling me that it wouldn't last long in such an unstable state. It was slowly evaporating, dying in the air. I thought it didn't have a conscious will. I thought it was unaware that in ten minutes time it would cease to exist. I didn't think it had a survival instinct, but I was very wrong.

Shock flooded through me when Phantom suddenly lifted his head, showing me the chaotic emotions storming through his electric green, furious eyes. For one frozen second he stared at me, but almost instantly his face warped into an enraged expression, one made up of nothing but pure anger and pain. I dimly wondered if maybe it wasn't such a good idea to separate Daniel's unending grief into a solid being. However, before I had time to think about this, Phantom grabbed my arms in an iron grip and threw me to the wall, ripping the claws that restricted his escape from his chest.

Miraculously, he seemed to know he was dying and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn't about to let that happen. Growling like an animal, he shoved his hands in the fallen gauntlets and leaned over me with a twisted grin. For the first time in ages I felt fear, his burning shadow falling over my cowering form. I watched, eyes wide and frozen, as the the long claws shot from his fingertips, the deranged expression illuminated on his face.

I couldn't move. Something more than fear holding me down. I couldn't get the illogical thought out of my head that this was _Daniel_, and I could never hurt him. Phantom took immediate advantage of my frozen state. The claws plunged into my chest and I felt a pain somewhere deep at my very core. He wasted no time in ripping my ghost half from my chest and leaving me to crumple to the floor. The room swam with disorientation as I struggled to remember where I was. The dull ache of emptiness was overpowering, something missing that had been infused with my soul for over two decades. I was vulnerable for the first time in twenty years and it terrified me.

An agonized scream filled the room, shattering the numb haze in my brain. I forced myself up, eyes widening when I saw Phantom writhing in the air above, that unearthly wail emitting from his throat. There was no time to wonder why he was screaming like that. I had to get out of here. I had to save Daniel. My eyes scanned the room rapidly, mind spinning. He was still sleeping on that wretched table, totally oblivious.

Stumbling over to him, I punching the button that released the metal restraints over his form and ripped the mask from his face. Phantom was still screaming wildly behind me, making my heart thump madly in my chest. I spared a glance back at the ghost as I picked Daniel's limp form from the table. I wished I hadn't. His face was literally cracking, skin turning a corpse blue. He clutched his head in agony as his head was suddenly aflame with white fire, fangs ripping themselves from his gums. I looked away, clutching Danny's cold human body to me tightly, focusing on his slow but steady heartbeat. I had to get out of here.

But then the unnatural screaming stopped, and my heart turned to ice. Danny moaned in my arms, slowly waking up. I forced myself to turn around, terrified of what I'd see.

Phantom was looking curiously at his body, inspecting his transformed face in one of the gleaming surfaces of my lab. His eyes were wide with a childlike wonderment as he ran a hand through the fire on his head. I could barely breathe, waiting for what would happen next. Danny stirred in my arms again.

I watched as the wonderment slowly slipped from his face and a dark, purposeful grin replaced it. I knew this did not bode well, the expression on his face looking so similar to mine when I focused on a single, malicious, goal. It was in that moment that I realized what he'd done. I wasn't staring at just Daniel's ghost half anymore, I was staring at mine too.

"Vlad...wha..." Danny's head rolled, eyes blinking open blearily.

I looked down at him, my eyes strained. A type of dread mixed in with fear as I looked back up at Phantom, his blood red eyes turning to our huddling forms with demonic amusement. His mouth split into a twisted grin, fangs gleaming off the powerful aura surrounding him. Danny gasped below me, his body going rigid.

"What-"

I threw ourselves to the side as Phantom attacked, a wicked laugh filling the room. We fell to the floor, Danny's face buried in my chest as though expecting me to save us. I didn't know what to do. I didn't have my ghost half anymore. I felt my heart twist, for once not knowing the outcome of the battle ahead. Indeed, if it even was a battle. I had the sinking feeling that this was going to be a massacre.

"Vlad, what-"

Danny's scared voice was interrupted as Phantom let loose a stream of fire from his hands, pouring it into the lab with insane laughter. My eyes instantly traveled to the many flammable contents in my lab, knowing he had just turned this room into a massive time bomb.

"Danny, we have to get out of here." I whispered frantically, desperately trying to keep my head.

"Then phase us out of here!" he croaked.

"I can't, he took my ghost half and merged with it. I...I don't have my ghost half anymore." It pained me to admit it, having just lost half of my existence.

Danny looked up at me, eyes wide as the doomed situation dawned on him.

"You...you don't have-"

Suddenly he was gone from my arms and I heard him screaming from above me. Horror pounded into me when I looked up and saw Phantom clutching Danny in the air, leering at him in morbid anticipation. Danny looked back at him fearfully for half a second, and his screamed renewed. Phantom hugged his writhing body close as flames licked up Danny's human limbs, grinning at the teens agonized cries.

I reached for the first thing I could find, Danny's screams the only sound in my head. The gun charged for barely a moment before I pulled the trigger and shot Phantom in the face. He dropped Danny to the ground, growling furiously at me but didn't attack. I didn't hesitate to scooped Daniel up in my arms, the smell of burnt flesh permeating the room. He writhed painfully in my arms, gritting his teeth and no doubt trying to control the tears pricking his eyes.

"Hold on Danny, I'll get you out of here. It'll be okay." I whispered to him, eyes jumping around the burning room.

Phantom was gone, nothing but the roar of the fire surrounding us. The exits were all blocked, but I refused to believe this was the end. They're had to be a way out, their had to be. The temperature was rising, sweat pouring down my face. Pure adrenaline was the only thing giving me strength right now, the need to live branded in my focus. I had to find an exit.

A shade of green caught my eye and I suddenly realized that the ghost portal was open. The fire must have caused the locks to malfunction, unlocking the portal. Did Phantom leave through it? I didn't have much time to think, the fire getting dangerously close to several high pressure machines in my lab.

"The ghost portal, it's the only way." I mumbled, but to who I couldn't say.

Danny moved in my arms, fighting to stay conscious.

"How...we can't...fly..." he panted, cringing.

"I have a small speeder." I said, looking around the burning lab wildly, "As long as it's still intact."

Miraculously, it was. Far in a corner where the fire had yet to reach, it laid unharmed. A spark of hope budded in my chest as I ambled toward it, looking for a way around the fire.

"Counters..." Danny panted, his breathing becoming labored from the smoke filling the air.

I could have kissed him for his stroke of genius. Still holding him, I jumped onto one of the counters that mazed through the lab. The fire was just starting to leap over the edges, giving us barely enough room to walk if we moved quickly. I didn't hesitate, keeping my eyes pealed for Phantom and the raging fire at the same time. The speeder was getting closer. We were going to make it. I pushed on through the fire, the hope in my chest eliminating the heat of the flame. _We were going to make it!_

I should have known that we wouldn't though. We had just neared the end of the counters when a powerful blast hit my back, throwing me into the air and slamming us right into the speeder. Equally dizzied, we both sunk to the floor, groaning and clutching our heads. I looked up and saw Phantom grinning at us, a teasing laugh in he eyes. He hadn't gone through the portal, he'd been here the whole time. He's _playing _with us, I realized with horror.

His devilish laugh confirmed it and I glared at him, keeping Danny close. His laugh stopped when he saw my scowl and an amused smile tittered on his face, as though he found my anger funny. Phantom flew toward us slowly and Danny scooted closer to me, fear in his eyes. I glanced around for a gun, _anything_, but there was nothing but cold tile and fire surrounding us. If we could just get in the speeder...

Suddenly Phantom lashed out, a clawed hand wrapping around Danny's ankle and ripping him away from me.

"No! Vlad!" Danny screamed, terrified.

He twisted around, reaching for me in vain. I jumped after him, but Phantom hoisted him in the air, dangling him upside down over the raging fire.

"No!" I begged, the tears running down Danny's terrified face eating away at my logic. I had to save him.

Phantom laughed at us, enjoyment clear on his face. For one heart stopping moment I thought he was going to drop Danny head first into the fire, but his arm jerked out, throwing Danny against the wall about ten feet from me. Sweat poured down Danny's scared face as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He looked at me, his eyes boring into mine, and I got the sudden gut wrenching feeling that this was the end.

Phantom's laughing ceased, his entire demeanor changing so violently it threw me for a loop. One second he was laughing at our suffering, and now he was glaring at Danny with murder in his eyes. My heart beat faster, I scrambled over to the trembling boy. I couldn't let him kill Danny.

Phantom twisted around and blasted me in the stomach, throwing me back another ten feet and dangerously close to the inferno. I jumped up instantly, my blood running cold as I saw Phantom reaching for Danny's neck.

"Danny! Run!" I yelled, knowing I was too far away.

My voice broke Danny's frozen state. He jumped and desperately tried to get away, but with a sinking heart I knew it was too late. Leering over him like a predator to prey, Phantom descended on Daniel with sharp claws outstretched.

"No!" I screamed, reaching out to him.

The claws pierced my son's chest, an agonized scream of pain tearing from Danny's lips as Phantom twisted his hands maliciously. I couldn't move, horror freezing my heart as I watched him tear Daniel apart like a wild animal, blood spewing over the floor. It was over so fast. _So fast_. Phantom rose into the air, laughing hysterically as he let Daniel's body fall over like a limp puppet. The murderous ghost ignored me in favor of destroying more things in my lab and I crawled to Danny's motionless body, nothing else existing around me. His blue eyes were cloudy and the dark hair that fell over his face contrasted sharply with the corpse white of his skin. He...he was... I reached out to touch his face, my fingers shaking as they traced his jaw line. He was so cold.

An explosion to my right brought reality thundering back. Phantom was throwing fire at more things, still laughing his head off. Things were starting to explode, expelling shards of glass and globs of chemicals everywhere. My mind switched to autopilot. I scooped Danny's dead body in my arms, running to the small speeder. Phantom took no notice of me, too busy blowing everything up. He didn't even look my direction as I started the jets, the sound drowned out by the chaos around us. I left at exactly the right moment, the speeder slipping silently into the ghost zone just as the high pressure machines exploded. I swear, through all the explosions, I could hear his maniacal laughter flying away, released out into the human world. Then the portal itself exploded, and I was left alone in the abrupt silence of the ghost zone with nothing but my regrets and Danny's body staining the seat next to me.


	8. 74 Strength

Yet _another_ old creation of mine. I really shouldn't post these...

* * *

"Vlad, I'm stuck!" Danny's muffled voice came from somewhere, coughing violently as dust continued to settle within the rubble.

Vlad waved a hand around, trying to clear the air as he made his way to the struggling teen. Rocks crumbled under his badly scuffed Italian shoes, and more rips were made in his Armani suit as the material caught on jagged edges of metal, but he took no notice, worry eating away at his frazzled brain as he tried to find his charge.

"Hold on Daniel, I'm coming!"

Something cracked from above, and Vlad looked up just in time to gasp and jump away as another large chuck fell away from the Fenton's house, or at least, what used to be the Fenton's house. More dust coated the air, making it almost impossible to breathe. Vlad coughed, breathing into his arm and trying to see through his stinging eyes. Unfortunately, even after the dust settled to a more bearable level, all he could see was more crumpled brick and tumbled walls, creating a strong barrier in his attempt to find the young hybrid.

"Daniel," He took a shaky breathe, the numb shock of the situation still running through him and making his brain spin, "Daniel, can you see anything familiar around you?"

He waited, but didn't hear a reply. For one heart stopping moment, Vlad was afraid he wouldn't receive an answer. Relief flooded through him when he finally managed to pick up Danny's muffled response.

"I think I'm in the lab!" He almost couldn't hear him, ears straining to pick up the quiet call.

Vlad looked around frantically, trying to gauge his own position in the house from the disastrous ruin around him. The house wasn't leveled completely, a few remaining walls giving clues to the location. He spied half the staircase, wood groaning as it tried to stay standing. The hole behind him must have been the front door. He could see people beginning to come out of their houses in the distance, and the low call of police sirens approaching. With an impatient growl, he turned back to the house, not looking forward to the media attention this was sure to bring. Not to mention Maddie and Jack. However, there were more pressing things to worry about than the reactions of his old friends.

Ignoring the concerned buzz of outside strangers, Vlad pushed away the second half of the staircase, revealing the bent, metal lab door he had suspected to be there. But the hinges were destroyed, making it impossible to open unless he had a large sledge hammer.

"Or ghost powers," he said furiously to himself, "But someone just had to temporarily disable them, didn't they."

"I can hear you, you know!" Danny called, his voice obviously coming from behind the door. Vlad thought he heard a few gasps of pain, and his flare of anger was quickly dampened.

"Daniel, are you alright?"

There was a pause. Vlad pressed his ear to the door, breath held steady as he waited for a reply.

"Uh...I've been better." His voice was weaker, something that worried Vlad.

"Just hold on, I'm coming to get you."

He looked around, hoping to find something heavy to break off the hinges. After frantically kicking away a layer of debrie, he managed to unearth a large chuck of cement, it's crude edges hopefully up to the task of tearing away one of the ruined hinges. Forced to rely on his human strength, he raised the heavy rock above his head and brought it down with a determined grunt. It took a few tries, but the satisfying crack soon met his ears and one of the hinges bounced to the ground with a light ping. He threw the cement down, breathing heavily for a moment before gripping the bent edge of the door and pulling it back.

He felt his muscles strain with the effort, but somehow the metal door bent to his strength, giving him just enough room to slip through and down into the dark basement.

"Daniel, where are you?" he called again, stumbling slightly on the uneven stairs.

"Vlad?" Danny's voice echoed up, much clearer now that he was getting closer.

The last stair gave way, and Vlad had to reach out to stop himself from falling in the darkness, cutting his hand on something sharp. He hissed in pain slightly, scowling and pushing the ache away as he squinted at his new surroundings. It was much darker than upstairs. Most of the ceiling had caved in, making Vlad's stomach sink with dread. Little slivers of light managed to make it's way through the cracks, though, offering just enough light to at least let him see where he was going.

He heard someone wince again, and a sharp gasp followed.

"Just keep talking, Daniel, I'm almost there."

"Not much you're going to be able to do," he chuckled grimly, coughing again. Vlad thought he heard something thick splash to the floor. "I wasn't kidding when I said I'm stuck."

"Well..." Vlad hesitated, wanting to see how bad Daniel was before offering any words of encouragement. False hope was hardly hope, after all. "I heard police sirens. Help is on the way, at least."

"What about mom and," he winced again, "Dad?"

"I don't know. I didn't wait for them to show up before coming to find you."

Vlad side stepped a pool of ectoplasm leaking from a fallen cabinet, probably all of Maddie and Jack's samples. The cave in took up most of the room, leaving just enough space for him to climb over hunks of rock and wood along the walls. The ghost portal was ruined, sparks flying out of the gaping hole and black soot stains along the wall. He pulled himself over what looked suspiciously like the couch, looking around and straining to hear any movement from the teen.

"Dan-"

"I'm over here." he said, and Vlad was able to detect the shakiness that had been in his voice all along.

He looked around a protruding beam of wood, eyes widening and heart stopping at the sight of the crippled teenager. Only half of Daniel's body was visible, everything from the waist down crushed under the mountain of rock, wood, and debrie. He looked up at Vlad, his pale face shining in the meager light and crimson blood leaking from the corners of his mouth.

"Hi Vlad." He waved, and Vlad heard the low gurgle coming from his throat.

"Danny." he breathed, stumbling over to him and falling to his knees, not even noticing the pool of blood soaking his pants. "Oh god..."

"I know, right? Damn ecto-filtrator." he attempted a weak smile, but it came off as more of a pained grimace.

"Daniel, this is serious. The cave in goes all the way up to the first floor."

"Well, if someone hadn't disabled my powers, we wouldn't be in this mess right now."

"No, if someone did his chores in a timely fashion we wouldn't be in this mess." Vlad scowled. "You can't blame me for bringing the Plasmius Maximus. I was here to babysit _you_ after all."

"Stop with the patronizing tone, Plasmius," Danny spat, "I'm fifteen, I don't need a friggin babysitter."

"Your parents seem to think otherwise, considering that party you had while they were on vacation."

"You know damn well that was Ember and Youngblood hypnotizing them with that stupid music crap. And I wasn't even invited to that party!"

Vlad opened his mouth with a smart quip in mind, but Danny fell into a violent batch of coughs, blood dripping from his mouth as he clutched his chest. The billionaire's face instantly fell, guilt and fear swirling in his stomach.

"I'm sorry, Daniel. It doesn't matter, please, calm down. An ambulance will be here soon, just hold on." he said, all the while mentally berating himself for loosing his temper on the boy. Now was not the time to get into pointless fights.

Danny didn't reply, slow breathes coming out in low rasps. Instead he nodded his head, the severity of the situation finally squelching his attempted bravado. Vlad bit his lip nervously, seeing Danny's fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were turning white. After a moments hesitation, he reached out, taking one of the smaller, shaking hands in his own. Danny looked up at him in surprise, but quickly surrendered to the support, opening his fist to clench Vlad's hand instead.

"I'm scared." he admitted, voice barely a whisper.

"I know, little badger. It'll be alright, just a bit longer." Vlad replied in a gentle voice, squeezing his hand slightly.

Danny nodded silently, resting his head on a trembling arm and waiting in the silence, only the occasional drop of water or creaking groan coming between them. Vlad sat next to him, rubbing the tips of his fingers to his temple and praying the ambulance would hurry up.

"Your bleeding."

"Hm?" Vlad looked down at Danny, meeting his concerned stare.

"Your head. It's bleeding."

Vlad raised a hand to his head, a confused expression on his face. His fingers met something sticky and he pulled them away to see blood coating the skin.

"So I am." He mumbled, just now picking up on the mild headache.

"That could be bad."

Vlad looked down at Danny, a deadpanned look on his face.

"Your stuck under half your house and your worried about a little cut on my head?"

"That 'little cut' covers, like, half your scalp. Seriously, if you can't feel it I think that means something bad."

"Oh, come now little badger, I'm sure it's nothing." he waved, and his eyes reluctantly moved to the teens bloody waistline when he looked down at him, his stomach churning.

"Does it look that bad?" Danny asked after a moment of silence.

Vlad didn't reply, swallowing thickly and sitting straight again.

"Lets...just wait for the ambulance."

However, hardly three minutes passed in silence before a loud boom echoed through the basement, followed by voices.

"Is anybody down there!"

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

Tangible hope burst in Vlad's chest as he looked up to the voices.

"We need an ambulance!" he called, alerting them to their presence.

A scuffling came from above, the sound of more pounding and then a crash.

"Okay, just hold on! We're sending down a stretcher!"

"He's stuck under a cave in!" Vlad called, feeling Danny squeeze his fingers.

"Don't worry, someones coming down!"

Before long, four men were clambering over the fallen ruins, dragging equipment and a stretcher behind them. It didn't take them long to find Danny and Vlad, the latter leading them to their location. But when the rescue team came around the same wooden beam, their expressions fell.

"Oh my god..."

For a frozen second, they stared, arms limp at their sides, the horror of the situation dawning on them. But then everything was set on fast forward. They approached quickly, their movements much more rushed and panicky.

"Rudy, call in back up, we're going to need a second ambulance."

"I don't need an ambulance." Vlad scowled, watching the two men with equipment warily as they approached Daniel.

"Sir, you may be suffering from a concussion, please, you need medical attention."

"Don't worry about me, take care of the boy." he snapped, his tone icy out of habit.

"Vlad. Be nice." Danny chided, weakly pushing against his knee.

"Easy kid, don't move too much."

"Were going to try and lift the weight off you, okay?"

Vlad and Danny glanced at each other, the former glancing up at the mountainous pile as well.

"Sir, we're going to need you to move."

Danny squeezed Vlad's hand instantly, his grip doubling.

"No, don't." he gasped, another coughing fit hitting him.

The rescuers looked at him nervously, the fear in their eyes easy to decipher. The two men by Danny glanced at each other, ultimately giving in to his request.

"Fine, but we're going to need you to pull him out when we lift this stuff. And quickly." he spoke to Vlad, looking warily at the cut across the billionaire's head before helping his partner set up the equipment.

"What's your name, kid?" one of them looked down at him, distracting the teen as they eased some type of lever under the pile.

"Danny." he muttered.

"Alright then Danny. It's probably going to hurt when your friend pulls you out, but just bare with us, okay?"

He nodded, a hard glint in his eye as he waited for the inevitable, glancing up at Vlad for a moment.

"Nice and easy now." one of the men said slowly.

The machine looked like a car jack. They pushed it further under the largest chuck of rock holding Danny down, moving slowly. Danny winced when they bumped the crushing debree, inhaling sharply and doubling his grip on Vlad. The billionaire watched fearfully, moving slightly and kneeing in front of Danny.

"Okay, were going to start the lift. Easy..."

One man gave a last glance at the duo and grabbed the handle of the machine, pushing down. Danny clenched his teeth, groaning as the weight shifted. The man pushed down again, and horrible squelching sound came from Danny's body, making the teen scream.

"Be careful with that!" Vlad yelled, gripping Danny's hand tightly.

The young hybrid blindly shot another hand out and grabbed Vlad's arm, breathing heavily.

"I'm...f-fine. J-just...hu-hurry up..."

The rescuers grit their teeth, pulling down on the lever and raising the groaning mound higher. Danny bit his lip, a pained sound coming from his throat as more of the weight shifted.

"Almost there." one of them muttered, pulling down on the device more quickly.

"Now! Pull!"

Vlad didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed Danny's arms and slid him out from under the groaning pile, trying to be as gentle as possible. The men lowered the pile back down slowly, not wanting to cause another cave in, leaving Vlad to observe the true extent of Danny's injuries.

His legs were twisted and crushed, bone sticking out of the skin and blood gushing. His already small waist was even smaller, the weight having broke several more bones and flattening the area to a disturbing level. Vlad felt nausea build up in his throat, but forced it down, shakily retaining his grip on the fading teen.

"Vlad...?" Danny mumbled, eyes rolling around in his head as the fringes of unconsciousness ate at his mind.

"Danny? Danny! Focus, Danny, don't close your eyes!" Vlad shifted his hands, cradling his face, "Come on, Danny, hold on for a bit longer."

The men with the stretcher were already beside them, gently pushing Vlad away. Vlad let them, too horrified and scared to argue. They eased Danny's still form onto the carrier, and quickly started heading outside. After making sure no one else was hurt or trapped, the rescuers followed after them, helping Vlad out.

"You know this boy, sir?" One of the rescue men kept a close eye on him, glancing at the wound on his head.

"Yes, he's Jack Fenton's son. I was keeping an eye on him when one of his parent's inventions exploded down here." Vlad shook his head, his injuries becoming more pronounced as they climbed back up the stairs.

"Down here? The cave in indicates-"

"Yes, yes, I know. But the invention itself is wired all through the house, using all the energy it can. The explosion must have occurred somewhere other than the...oh forget it, just ask Jack and Maddie yourself." Vlad groaned, his head giving him a splitting headache the more he tried to think and talk.

"Take it easy, Sir." the rescuers inquiry immediately ceased, and he raised his hand's as though expecting Vlad to fall.

Vlad tried not to appear too irritated with the man, insisting on slipping through the basement door on his own. However, once out he was met with an onslaught of sirens and screaming citizens, yellow caution tape wrapped around the property to keep the nosey neighbors out. Police were barking orders and a few media teams were circling the destroyed home. Vlad's head gave another great throb and he stumbled a bit, everything spinning again.

"Perhaps...Perhaps I'll need that ambulance." he muttered, trying to walk straight as black dots started over taking his double vision.

"Sir!"

Then the blackness consumed all and he knew no more.


	9. 38 Gift

I feel like I missed the moral to this stroy...

* * *

Nobody likes Vlad. Except for my Dad, but he doesn't count. Vlad's the type of guy that everyone loves to hate, even if they won't admit it. He's got money, looks, power, and everything he could ever want. Those charities that fawn over him only like his money, then there's all of those magazines that go absolutely ga-ga over his crisp suits and young appearance (gag), and of course, all his political and business enemies, each one a different shade of green.

Even better, the fruitloop knows it. Vlad may be a lot of things, but he's not an idiot. Unfortunately, he's a hell of a lot smarter than anyone would expect, which is usually really bad for me. I can name several times where he's metaphorically put me six feet under without even attacking, and trust me, each one is just as humiliating as the first.

Sometimes-no wait, _all _the time, I wish he'd put his brains to better use. I don't even care what, as long as it didn't involve me or my family. His sly manipulation techniques are enough to keep me jumpy and paranoid for weeks. Honestly, if he'd stop with the evil agenda thing he could really do some good in this world. Crazy concept, I know, but I like to think there's some semblance of humanity left in him. Otherwise my attempts to be civil with him are pointless, and for the sake of my own sanity, I can't believe that.

"So let me get this straight," Vlad began, leaning back in the limo seat with a cat-like grin on his face, "You agreed to accompany me on my Christmas shopping because you think attempts of civility will pacify our turbulent relationship?"

"Uh...yes?"

He laughed, for once not a sarcastic or humorless laugh, but an actually laugh. See? It's all about the baby steps.

"Well I'm not going to argue, even if your reasoning is adorably naïve." I scowled at him, a light blush tingeing my cheeks, "But don't get offended when I try to break up your family next week."

I rolled my eyes, glancing out the windows and frowning at the snowy landscape. Hopefully I wouldn't regret this. But Vlad continued to smile pleasantly at me, looking almost happy to have my company, which he probably was.

"I do wonder if you realize what you've gotten yourself into though." He raised an eyebrow, a knowing gleam in his eye. I had a bad feeling about his tone.

"What?" I asked slowly, the apprehension clear.

"I have to buy gifts for 144 different people, and that's excluding the company divisions below each head manager."

"_What?_ You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Oh no. That's why I was so surprised you agreed to come when I asked, other than for the obvious reasons, of course."

"144 people? There's no way you've got that many friends."

"They're not my 'friends', Daniel, believe me. It's all for appearances sake, I assure you."

"Then why even bother? Who cares if some stuffy millionaire thinks your a jerk." I grumbled, successfully biting off the insult that pointed how he technically was.

"In my line of work, appearances are everything. One day you'll understand, though I worry you won't have the tact to care." He gave my faded jeans and worn red jacket a dry stare.

"Forgive me for not having billions of dollars to appease your fashion sense."

"Hm," he sniffed, "Luckily, you have me instead. Personally, I'm going to make sure that jacket goes into the nearest dumpster once we get to the mall."

"Hey, I like this jacket!" Okay, so really I hated it, but whatever. I wasn't about to act like some dress up doll for him.

"No you don't, you hate it." He smirked, easily seeing through my lie. "You've gotten much better at lying, I'll give you that, but you're no where near good enough to fool me."

I gapped at him for a moment before scowling, sitting back in the seat and crossing my arms irritatedly. This was going to be a long day.

It wasn't long before we pulled into the parking lot of Amity Park's impressively large mall, Christmas trees, ribbons, candy canes, and all forms of holiday cheer covering every inch of the building. Joy. However, the driver didn't pull into an empty space. Instead he drove right up to the entrance and parked the sleek black limo ten feet from the front doors, successfully grabbing the attention of everyone within a fifty foot radius. I sunk even lower into my seat.

"Come now Daniel," Vlad laughed, buttoning up his long black coat and pulling matching gloves on, "You didn't expect to spend the day with me and not garner a bit of attention, did you?"

"No, but this is a little nuts." I mumbled, watching people shamelessly try peering through the open door, pulling my thin jacket tighter over my shoulders as the driver waited for me to get out.

"Welcome to my life." Vlad muttered, gently pushing me out into the frozen air.

The driver nodded to Vlad as he stood behind me, and all too soon he was driving away, leaving us to the mercy of the stares. Some people were even pointing at Vlad and myself with curious expressions and talking to each other. However, Vlad was expertly oblivious to all this, taking my shivering arm and leading me through the front doors of the heavily populated mall.

"Good lord, child, do you not have any thicker coats?" he asked, no doubt feeling me shiver.

"Mom and Dad's inventions cost a lot, so we usually get hand-me-downs." I shrugged, trying to ignore the stares like he was.

"Well perhaps we'll put off the Christmas shopping and appropriately fill your wardrobe instead." he muttered to himself, frowning.

"Vlad, I don't have a problem with hand-me-downs. Seriously. It's no big deal." I blushed, feeling slightly uncomfortable with Vlad buying me clothes. "Besides, my cousins are huge, and if you haven't noticed, I'm kind of scrawny, so I'm good to go for a while."

"Tch." He shook his head, "You only appear scrawny because you wear such baggy clothes. Trust me Daniel, I've been on the receiving end of enough punches to know you're not scrawny. I'm buying you at least one outfit, so there's really no use in arguing about it."

I opened my mouth to argue anyways, my brain a confused knot at his sideways generosity and compliments, but before I could say anything he must have read the confusion in my eyes because he looked down at me with a smarmy grin and said,

"I can't have a raggedy urchin following me all day. It's all about appearances my boy."

I really wanted to hit him.

Vlad lead the way to an expensive clothes story, practically dragging me through the entrance. The people in there were the kinds that me, Sam, and Tucker like to make fun of when we walked by. The tables were turned this time and I could feel their judging eyes on me as I was forced through the clothing isles, feeling painfully inferior.

"Uh...Vlad..."

"Here we are." he smiled, purposefully aloof to the people around us.

I let out an irritated huff, giving in for the moment and at least looking at the clothes he planned on dressing me up in. They were...kinda nice. Even I could tell they were made from some high quality stuff. Vlad browsed through a few shelves, obviously having way more fun than I was, and threw a few jeans and shirts at me.

"Try these on."

I glared at him.

"Please." he rolled his eyes.

I stalked off to the nearest dressing room, still feeling horribly inferior as people exited past me. The woman at the dressing station even went so far as to tell me their policy on theft. I decided I didn't like this place. So it was with a slightly more grumpy attitude that I shoved a pair of pants on and grabbed one of the shirts at random, wondering in the back of my mind why the clothing was so tigh-

Oh no way.

"What the hell?" I yelled.

"I'm assuming that would be your eloquent language, Daniel?" Vlad's voice floated somewhere out the dressing room door and I didn't hesitate to stomp out and scowl at him.

"Seriously?" I said, pointing to the dark colored skinny jeans.

Vlad smiled in triumph from where he sat, and I didn't miss the pile of clothes next to him, complete with a pair of shoes. Yeah. He was having way too much fun with this.

"What's wrong my boy? Are they not the right size?"

"I look like a freaking flamer in these."

"Oh come now, that's a little narrow-minded, don't you think? What would Samantha say?"

"She'd say I look like a flamer in these."

"Fine." he waved in surrender, not fooling me for a second, "But you can't deny you look much taller in them."

I opened my mouth for a retort and then stopped. Muttering incoherently, I stomped back into the changing room, not saying another word.

"Here. I found some more clothing you might like. I know I said one outfit, but really, with my kind of money it would be foolish not to take advantage of it. I probably won't be so generous in the future."

In the end, he managed to buy me three pairs of pants and four shirts, not including what I ended up wearing as we finally left the stupid snob store. I wore the original skinny jeans I tried on, much to my dismay. The shirt was white with a subtle design traveling up the side, but was hidden under the expensive dark green jacket he bought me. It was made of a durable material, but just barely hung past my waist, allowing a ring of the white shirt to be visible. Vlad said the snug fit across my shoulders made me look stronger, which was really weird coming from him, but I went with it. After all, I didn't look scrawny anymore, which was pretty cool. He even bought me a red and white striped scarf, laughing about making me festive for my favorite holiday. He wouldn't let me see the price tags, but at least he let me pick out the shoes: nice and plain black converse.

"Okay, are we done playing Dress-Up-Danny, or do you have anything else you want to stick on me?" I scowled, batting his hand away as he ruffled my hair.

"Oh please, you know you're enjoying yourself Daniel." he said matter of factly.

"I am not." I replied stubbornly. He made me carry all the stuff.

"So now where are we going?" I asked, looking up at him as we took an escalator to the next floor.

"A store called Crystal Works. We should probably start with the more important people to buy for," He said, looking at his watch. "Lord knows they'll throw a fit if they don't receive something from me."

"I don't understand why you have to go out and get these gifts personally. If they're all part of your business stuff and you don't like them anyways, why not just send someone else to go buy the gifts?" I asked, blowing a strand of hair out of my face.

"Because then I wouldn't have the chance to spend time with you, little badger." he said with a smile, stepping off the escalator before I could reply.

"Hey! Wait up!"

Eventually, we stopped at the glass and crystal trinket store, the outside window so stuffed with little sparkling creations that it looked like a giant diamond. The door itself was even intricately designed, and like the clothing shop, everything reeked of money.

"Who are you shopping for?"

"My personal secretary. She collects Australian crystal and honestly, is the only business associate who I'd really put any effort into getting a gift for."

"Why?"

"Trust me, if you knew the amount of work she does in a day, you'd probably be screaming that I get her more than a little glass trinket."

"So get her more that a glass trinket."

"There's a certain, subtle etiquette you have to follow when you have a female secretary, Daniel. When it comes to women, they have an annoying knack of seeing nonexistent messages in simple gifts."

"...so get her more than a glass-"

"No."

I grinned, watching him as he inspected a set of glass flowers with a frown before putting them back. He didn't take too long, soon settling on a little crystal koi fish, the colored glass along the fin creating an intresting effect. The cashier expertly wrapped the box and gave it to Vlad who gave it to me, and we were off to the next store.

"Only 143 left." I sighed, wondering if Vlad was gonna make me carry all the presents. I had a bad feeling that he was.

"The rest will be simple to shop for. In fact, we can probably get most of the shopping done in there." He pointed into the distance, and it was only with my extra sharp eyes (thanks to ghost powers) that I could read the name.

"Conclusion Co.?"

"It's a business store, perfect for the little meaningless gifts that we need."

"Wow, your a cheery person to shop with."

"143 gifts, Daniel."

"Right. Meaningless gifts, here we come."

Vlad chuckled, walking at a leisurely pace as I trailed behind him, probably looking like his personal bus boy. Plenty of people were still pointing, but luckily I was lost in the shadow of Vlad's 'greatness', so I was mostly ignored. However, when I saw a few kids from my school, I made sure to hide my face behind the wrapped crystal-fish box, hoping it'd be enough to hide my identity. We made it to Conclusion Co. without any injury or social mayhem, but Vlad caught me trying to hide my face behind the box and thought it was funny.

"It's a little ironic that you hate attention so much." he commented as we made our way through the larger store. "I feel sorry for you if your secret ever gets out."

"Yeah, that's why it's not gonna get out." I scowled, looking around the clean cut store.

Vlad rose an eyebrow but didn't say anything in response, spinning a glass case containing hundreds of expensive pens. He looked at the lady behind the counter and asked for ten dozen.

"Ten dozen?" I gapped. "What the heck do you need 120 pens for?"

"I'm impressed Daniel. Did you do that math all in your head?" The fact that he actually _did _look impressed offended me.

"I'm not stupid Vlad. I can multiply twelve and ten you know." I said in a dry voice.

"Hm. Well hopefully your addition is as good as your multiplication because I need 120 ties to go with them."

"Your not seriously going to get all your business associates pens and ties, are you?"

"Of course not." Vlad smirked, "The remaining twenty are female and if I sent them a tie I'd be sure to receive raving letters of sexual discrimination."

"What if they find out you got them all the same thing?"

"Daniel, I'm sure they already know they get the same thing. Most of them don't care for Christmas anyways and like I said, it's all for appearances." Vlad looked slightly confused with my question.

"Oh. Well...but it just seems wrong to be _that _meaningless." I frowned, having trouble finding the right words and not sure if I was conveying the message what I wanted to.

"Don't tell me your actually getting into the Christmas spirit." he smirked suspiciously, turning back to the lady behind the case when she asked about the wrapping.

I stood there for a moment, wondering just what it was I was trying to say before letting it go with a sigh and heading to the massive wall of ties. I had hundreds of options, and I was sure Vlad wouldn't care what the tie looked like, so I just went down the line, grabbing one of every design I saw until I had 120. They all started looking the same after the twentieth tie anyways.

"What are you going to get for the rest of the people?" I asked as the lady stuffed the ties and boxes into three convenient bags.

"Well here's where the shopping becomes more difficult," he muttered, stroking his goatee with a slight frown.

"Difficult?"

"You remember the problem with having a female secretary, yes?" I nodded.

"Now multiply that times twenty."

"Ah. This _is_ gonna be hard."

"Mhmm."

"Why not just buy them jewelry?"

"For some that will be an appropriate gift, such as the ones whom I have worked with for a long time and are already married. The others, however..."

"Come on Vlad. This is getting a little ridiculous." I smirked, raising an eye brow, "I know you've been proclaimed as the most attractive bachelor of the year for the last five years, but surely you don't have to be _this _paranoid."

"The last five years?" he grinned, "I didn't know you were keeping count, my boy."

A red hot blush immediately covered my face, only widening Vlad's grin. I scowled, glaring up at him.

"Shut up Vlad. You know what I mean. Your ego is getting to be the size of a small planet."

"No, I'm actually being serious about this." he sighed, though the humor in his face remained as my blush lingered, "I once made the mistake of thinking something along similar lines, and believe me, I don't intend on making it again."

He paused, looking down at me with a lidded smile as the amusement came back into his eyes.

"You're so cute when you get flustered and angry." He grinned, ruffling my hair.

"Hey!"

When we finally left Conclusion Co., I was so weighed down with bags and boxes that it was almost comical. Vlad was still supporting a triumphant smile and I was still blushing furiously, muttering incoherent, murderous things about the man in front of me as we walked to some fancy jewelry store.

"This necklace would looks just ravishing on you Daniel, don't you think?"

"Shut up!"

I didn't like his new jokes.

He only bought three pieces there: two bracelets and a pair of earrings. Three more boxes later, I was trailing after him like a lost puppy, constantly saying "I'm sorry" and "excuse me" to every one and their mother. Vlad eventually took pity on me, offering to take a few of the bags. However, with my masculinity so throughly insulted, I refused his help. Though in retrospect, maybe carrying the mountain of gifts behind him like a human tote bag wasn't the manliest thing in the world.

He mostly bought the rest of them pointless knickknacks, but a few got festive calendars with their ceramic Christmas puppy. I sighed as box after box was piled on the ever growing pile, amazed that I hadn't dropped any yet. I had to keep reminding myself that this was all for the sake of a good relationship with Vlad, otherwise I probably would have dumped all the gifts over the second story railing and flew home.

Eventually, Vlad insisted on carrying at least enough gifts so that I could see where I was going. I grudgingly accepted. He smirked knowingly, but all I could do was grit my teeth and scowl. Finally, he bought the last gift, (some dove ornament) and finally started heading for the front door.

"So we're done?" I asked, shifting some of the bags as they started cutting into my arms.

"Not quite, dear boy." He smiled, holding the door for me as I ambled into the blustery cold.

The wind had picked up, thick fluffs of snow blinding me even more. I shivered, feeling my chilly ghost core react to the icy weather and making my body temperature about five degrees cooler than everyone else. And I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but trust me, it's a lot. I stood frozen for a moment as my body adjusted to the abrupt changed in temperature, teeth chattering ridiculously.

Vlad gently pushed me forward, guiding me to the limo that I couldn't see.

"W-well, if y-you hadn't b-bought s-so many gifts t-this w-wouldn't be a p-problem!" I snapped as we finally reached the trunk of the sleek black car.

Vlad bent lower, talking close to my ear and making goosebumps travel up my spine.

"You agreed to come, little badger." he said in a low voice, chuckling as he put a snow hat on my head.

Ten minutes and a short walk later we were back in the mall, free of burdensome gifts and away from the icy wind. Vlad had mentioned something about buying gifts for his company divisions, and I groaned internally, wondering if I was stuck repeating the last three hours all over again.

"I didn't realize the cold weather affected you so much." he commented as we rode the up escalator again.

"It's not that bad. I just shiver a lot." I shrugged, still reveling in the lack of gifts on my arms.

"Where'd you get this hat anyways?" I asked, taking it off my head and shaking the hat hair away.

"Back at the clothing store we first went to. I stuck it in one of the bags without you noticing."

"What! You didn't buy anything else, did you?"

"Did I?"

I pouted stubbornly, crossing my arms and scowling for reasons unknown. I wasn't really mad anyways. Vlad shook his head, smiling lightly as we stepped onto the second floor.

"So how many company divisions do you have?" I asked, expecting it to be ten or twenty.

"More than 144 dear boy, but relax," he said before I could start freaking out, "For these gifts I get everyone the same thing and I order them through a single company. Don't worry, you don't have to carry anything."

"Good, cause I wasn't gonna."

We stopped in a catering store where little kids parties were usually held. Turns out they actually cater parties that don't involve elephants and circus' too. He ordered 367 Christmas trees with different dessert dishes for all the company divisions, explaining to me that he was more buying bulk gifts for the higher, but still numerous, employees in each of his companies.

"I'm basically supplying the dessert for their company Christmas parties. It's not strictly necessary I suppose, but it keeps the workers happy to do their job, so it pays in the long run."

"Or maybe Vlad's got a heart, and he wants to repay his employees for all their hard work?" I grinned.

"You would hope so, wouldn't you?" He yawned, looking around for something and smiling when he spotted it. "I'm going to grab a cup of coffee, would you like anything?"

"Hot chocolate." I said immediately, thinking of the cold wind awaiting me outside.

Vlad chuckled, turning to the little cafe near the food court of the mall and motioning me to follow. I walked beside him, looking around the mall with a much cheerier disposition now that I had the promise of hot chocolate awaiting me.

"Hey, are you coming to our Christmas party?" I asked suddenly, looking up at him curiously.

"You want me to come?" he asked, his flat tone full of disbelief.

"Well my Dad did invite you."

"Yes, but he'd invite me over to your house because it's a Wednesday. Do _you _want me to come?"

"Uh...as long as you don't plan on killing my Dad, hitting on my Mom, or try turning me into your evil apprentice, then sure. Just gotta set those boundaries though."

Vlad stared at me as we stood in the cafe line, giving me a long measured look before rolling his eyes. "Thanks, but no thanks. I have a feeling you don't really want me at your house on Christmas anyways." he smiled wanly, ruffling my hair again. He seemed to enjoy doing that.

I wasn't sure how to respond to that, cause truthfully, he was kinda right. Spending time with him alone was fine, because I can watch out for myself and we both don't have to hold back any secrets between each other. But on Christmas, we'd be around my family, and more importantly, my mom. I don't want to play babysitter on Christmas.

"One coffee, black, and one hot chocolate." Vlad's voice interrupted my thoughts.

The sound of a register opening was heard before two steaming cups were placed in front of us. Vlad grabbed the drinks and led me to a small table to sit down at, handing me my hot chocolate.

"Thanks." I muttered, taking a sip and savoring the hot beverage.

"No, thank you for accompanying me today." he said, "Surprisingly enough, I really did enjoy your company."

"Ha. See? Told you my plan will work." I smirked.

"Your naivety kills me." I muttered.

"Whatever Vlad. Your just scared cause you know I'm right. What are you gonna do when you realize being an evil fruitloop isn't nearly as fulfilling as you thought it was?"

"Hm. Probably spend all my time annoying _you_."

"Uh..." I never considered this outcome.

"Hey," He shrugged, a smirk tugging at his lips, "I gotta get my kicks from somewhere."


	10. 93 Talk

I realized a lot in the moment Danny Phantom transformed into my son during the disastorid incident. Sure, Jazz had already told us the two were one in the same, but it didn't really register until I saw it with my own eyes. Suddenly everything made sense, all the missed curfews, the sinking grades, the mysterious bruises. And that wasn't all I realized in that moment. As those rings split to reveal my son standing there so nervously, it hit me. I was bad mother.

Danny had been secretly defending the entire town, putting life and limb at risk for almost two years. He'd battled great Pariah's, monstrous weather ghosts, deadly hunters, and even us, his own parents. I remember looking at my hands on the plane ride home from Antarctica, Danny sleeping soundly beside me, and knowing these hand's had harmed my own child. That is something I will never forgive myself for, even though Danny wishes I would.

When we came home, it was even worse. As he enjoyed the fruits of his success (as he should) I couldn't help but wander around the house, thinking of all the times that his secret should have been obvious to me. He would disappear suddenly, he was always so tired, he always defended Danny Phantom; even our own equipment tried telling us our son was part ghost, but we never listened.

Turns out I was never been listening to my child. There were plenty of subtle hints at something big happening in my son's life, but instead of trying to help and understand him, I placed the very inventions that harmed him first. The irony was sickening.

Jack was struggling as well, but he had another ghost in the closet to deal with as well, no pun intended. Vlad Masters, who he thought was his one and true friend, turned out to be an evil, manipulative ghost, preying on me and Danny. Jack never told me what happened up in space, but whatever was said, it left a dark impression on my husband. When ever Vlad is even mentioned, all traces of his usual bubbly happiness leave, and a silent, miserable anger replaces it.

I myself had never trusted Vlad, at least not after the accident in college. Once the thief had 'miraculously' gained his fortune, he'd turned into more of a sneaky snake than I ever thought possible. Even worse, half the time I didn't even know it was him. Like when he tried to steal our ghost portal or the reunion incident. But the revelation of Vlad's ghost half left open more questions that I didn't even want to think about. How many times did I leave Danny alone with him, thinking I could at least trust him enough not to harm my son? How many times did we watch Phantom and the Wisconsin ghost fight each other tooth and nail, usually with the Wisconsin ghost on the upper hand?

Danny never talked much about what happened between him and Vlad, but I know there's a lot he's not telling us. Part of me doesn't want to know what that monster did to my baby, which probably still means I'm a bad mother. Every time I try and talk to Jack about it he clams up, listening to what I say, but taking every possibility of offense by Vlad and putting the blame upon himself. I can't stand to see him beat himself up like that, so I usually try and avoid the subject.

But lately, Danny's been closing in on himself. I've made sure to keep my eyes open to my son now, determined to never make such a huge mistake again. It's been months since the disastorid incident. In fact, the one year anniversary is quickly approaching. By now the media has far since died down, and things are starting to return to a sense of normalcy, something I know Danny is very grateful for. But every day the anniversary gets closer, Danny gets more and more reclusive.

At first, I couldn't figure it out. I tried talking to Sam, but she didn't know either. Whenever I'd try to approach Danny, he'd laugh and say it was no big deal, disappearing on the spot (literally) and escaping my worried prodding. But then one night, as I was making a last radar scan of the city from within the Op-Center, I caught him sitting on top of the hulking metal structure in his ghostly form, staring forlornly up into the starry sky as though looking for something. And then it hit me.

This was about Vlad Masters.

Instantly, anger and fear had threatened to boil over. I wasn't sure if the fiend had secretly returned and was tormenting my son or if this was all of Danny's repressed secrets finally escaping out. Either way, it didn't matter, I had to know if my baby was alright. Even if Vlad was still lost in the deep abyss of space (and hopefully he was), Danny still needed to talk to someone about what he was feeling. Last thing I wanted him to do is bottle it all up like a certain psychotic fruitloop.

So, after talking to Jack about it, we decided that I would talk to Danny first. I didn't want my son to see Jack taking the blame. Knowing Danny, he'd instantly make everything seem less than it is and blow it off as 'no big deal'. It was a couple days later that I managed to corner him just as he was flying in from a quiet patrol night, a light smile on his face when he saw me.

"Hey mom. Your up late." He floated to the floor, bright rings of light appearing for a moment and revealing my human son a second later.

I smiled wanly at him, closing the door softly behind me. Danny was quick to notice the change in atmosphere, and his smile slowly fell.

"What's wrong?"

"Danny..." I sighed, walking over to him and sat him down on the bed. He blinked at me, confusion in his eyes.

"Danny, you know you can talk to me about anything, right? And really sweetheart, _anything_. Especially now, when there are no more secrets between us."

He looked away, a troubled frown on his face, but didn't say anything. After a moment of silence, I let loose a sigh, gently holding one of his hands.

"Danny." I didn't continue until he was looking at me. "What's wrong?"

He stared at me, icy blue eyes piercing and keeping me frozen. After a long moment, he sighed and looked out the window to the stars twinkling high above.

"You think he's still alive out there?"

It was difficult, I admit, to keep my voice steady and level. I didn't care if Vlad was alive; who else could we be talking about? If I had my way, I would have locked him in a Fenton Thermos and thrown him into the Atlantic ocean, but I suppose space is good enough. However, for some reason Danny did seemed to care about him, and that troubled me.

"I don't know, sweetie."

Of course he couldn't be alive. Jack told me he was wearing nothing but a temporary air helmet in the cold atmosphere of space, and the air contained in it would have run out months ago. There was no way Vlad was alive...unless he had chosen to return to Earth before his air had run out. But if he had done that we would surely know by now, wouldn't we?

"You don't really care, do you?" He looked back at me, a sad smile on his face.

His miserable tone shook me from my thoughts, but I couldn't answer him truthfully. My lack of response was response enough though, and he sighed, turning his back to the window.

"I guess...I shouldn't care either." he continued, pulling his hands away from mine and leaning on his knees. "It's not like he deserves any care or compassion, after everything he's done. Especially not from me."

"What do you mean?" I asked gently, hiding the fear in my voice, wondering if now was when I'd learn of all the terrible things Vlad did to my child.

"Mom," He gave me a look, "No offense, but I dealt with Vlad's fruitloopyness for almost two years before the disastorid incident. Trust me, he's more of a desperate psycho than you know."

He almost laughed when he said this, shaking his head as though Vlad's past misdeeds were nothing more than reminiscent humor. But then his smile fell.

"At least he was..." he whispered.

We sat in silence for a moment, a dark cloud dragging Danny's shoulders down as he stared at the floor. I couldn't understand why Danny was feeling this way about Vlad. Was it pity? Vlad deserved nothing more than hate from my son, but it seemed he was getting the exact opposite. It just didn't make sense.

"Danny, do you...do you miss him?"

He glanced up at me, not missing the incredulous tone in my voice.

"Yeah." he breathed, quieter than a whisper.

I was too stunned to speak for a moment, and couldn't quite keep the stark confusion from coloring my tone when I finally found my voice.

"Why?"

He sighed again.

"You know what it's like to be half dead, mom?"

I almost gave a start at the sudden morbid question, but Danny didn't stop there.

"Or know what it feels like to transform into your ghost half? To loose half your humanity? Do you feel that unnatural pull to the ghost zone, and then do you feel right at home when your inside it?"

His voice quickly fell quiet, whispering now.

"I don't save people because it's the right thing. I mean, yeah, a little bit, but...the real reason is because I have to. I...I think it's my obsession." He made a face, but shrugged and continued on, "No matter how much people come to accept me, I always feel out of place, like part of me doesn't belong. And it's true, part of me doesn't belong here. Sometimes...sometimes my ghost half bleeds with my human half, you know? I have trouble remembering what's Phantom and what's Fenton. Everything feels out of place one day and the next it's back to normal, what ever the hell normal is." he shook his head, giving a bitter laugh before he turned to me.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?"

I blinked, not having a clue but not wanting to discourage him. However, before I could say something he turned his gaze back to the stars.

"That's why I miss him." He sighed.


	11. 39 Smile

Continuation of Gift. Short and completely on a whim, so I might or might not write a third part. It's not the greatest, but Domination is giving me trouble. And Unexpected Abuse. And Adversus Adverto. This is more going up so I feel good about myself. :d

Oh, and this is sort of a Vlad/Danny, but not really. It's just kinda funny. Well..._I _think it's funny.

Enjoy!

* * *

Christmas day went significantly better than usual. Mom and Dad only fought once, and that was over who got to hold the camera as me and Jazz opened presents. Rolling her eyes, my sister went upstairs and brought down the tripod, successfully dissolving the fight in a matter of minutes. I couldn't help but laugh at my parents antics for once, finding it funny that they insisted on videotaping Christmas even though me and Jazz were well into our teen years. I guess it was cause this was Jazz's last Christmas before college though.

Anyways, Mom woke us up early with eggs and bacon, for once not resentful that she was the one who bought and wrapped all the gifts this year, what with Dad still believing in Santa Claus. I guess I have Ghostwriter to thank for that though. It's been two years since he taught me my 'lesson', but its stuck with my family. Truthfully, I still don't like Christmas very much, but even I can appreciate the family coming together for food, presents, and good company.

Sam and Tucker had eventually shown up, bringing with them some of the gifts they'd gotten. Tucker's parents had filled his stocking with PDA's, telling him he went through them like candy anyways. Sam didn't talk about what her parents got her, but me and Tucker knew it was the usual wardrobe of pink dresses and tea party sets. Sam brought over the one gift she always treasured, the one she got from her grandmother. This year it was a high tech spy set, so she could slip away from her parents easier. Conveniently enough, it would also be a huge help with ghost hunting.

While Jazz spent the day reading the massive pile of books she got for Christmas, me, Sam and Tucker spent a lot of time in the living room watching old Christmas movies with my parents and eating junk food. How Jazz could focus on those books as we laughed and talked around her I'll never know. Mr. and Mrs. Foley came over later in the evening, bringing with them a Christmas meatloaf for the party. It wasn't long before more people started showing up, family members and friends and what not.

They all brought food and gifts, and by six o'clock the Christmas music was blaring and we were all enjoying the last few hours of the holiday season. I sang and laughed with my friends, all of us trying to sneak a few glasses of alcohol and running away when my aunt would start throwing the rhubarb. Mom and Dad were happy, full of smiles and laughter all throughout the night. Honestly, if the whole Christmas season was actually like this, I might enjoy it more. But I was grateful enough for this one day of no fighting, unable to express how happy I was that everyone was getting along with food, friends, and family.

And true to his word, Vlad Masters never came to the party.

I wish it didn't bug me so much. Like, I _really_ wish it didn't. But as the clock neared eleven and the party died down it started getting to me more and more. I looked around the party to see everyone full of bright smiles, hugs, and laughter. It was exactly what anyone would imagine when they think of a traditional Christmas party, drunk cousins and all. I had a feeling this was the exact thing Vlad was sitting at home alone and wishing he had. I think I was actually pitying him, imagining him all alone in that huge mansion. Which really was a bad thing, cause if Vlad knew I pitied him he'd probably kick my ass. Still...to be alone on Christmas...

I had the sinking feeling that I'd end up going to his house like an idiot.

"Bye Danny! And merry Christmas!" Sam smiled, giving me a hug. That was the best part about Christmas, Sam's smiles.

"Bye Sam, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Sure, I'll meet you and Tuck at the Nasty burger."

"See ya Dude." Tucker clapped a hand on my back.

"By Tuck, and thanks for the new game!"

"I got your back man." He winked, following Sam out the door and into the snow.

"Danny, could you help us with this tinsel? I don't know why my sister thought it would be a good idea to bring it..." my Mom muttered, picking up the numerous strands that littered the floor.

"Charlie liked it." I snickered, thinking of my two year old cousin.

"Charlie tried to eat it."

I laughed again.

Me and Mom picked up the house together because Dad was passed out on the couch. Too much eggnog. Jazz was already asleep in her room, muttering something about a headache. Probably from all those books she read. It was just me and my mom, straightening couches and washing dishes as the quiet Christmas music played in the background.

"How was your trip with Vlad?" she asked suddenly.

"Hmm?" I looked up, a little startled.

"He bought you all those clothes, didn't he? How'd it go?"

"Oh, it was fine." I shrugged, going back to wiping up the counters. "He had, like, a ridiculous amount of people to buy for."

"Oh?" her tone of voice made it clear that she didn't think he had that many friends either, so I had to clarify.

"Business associates."

"Ah." She was silent for a while, and I was unsure with why she was questioning me about it. "It was very nice of him to buy you all those clothes, wasn't it."

"Uh...yeah." I agreed slowly, not mentioning that it was also very weird.

"Well your father was disappointed that he didn't come tonight," she stood straight, sighing as she put the last dish away. "Did you remind him about the party?"

"Yeah, but he said...he was busy."

"Hm. Oh well." yeah, she cared a lot. "I suppose there's always next year."

I gave her a small knowing smile as she closed the cabinets and walked into the living room, pulling a blanket over Dad and finally heading up stairs for bed. I walked into the now clean living room, the glow from the Christmas tree lighting up the room softly. I could tell it was snowing outside, the tell tale wind rattling the windows slightly. The CD was finished, leaving he house in silence except for my Dad's snores. I really wanted to go to bed, but with a last irritated sigh I transformed into my ghost half and headed off to Vlad's mansion, a frown on my face despite my good intentions.

I'd just drop in, say merry Christmas, and leave. No big deal. No one should be alone on Christmas, not even a sadistic fruitloop. Besides, I think I made some real progress with that shopping trip a few days ago. Best to let him know that it wasn't a one time thing, right?

Vlad's mansion was only a short flight from my house, though the drive was, of course, much longer. I arrived on his door step in less than ten minutes, decided to forgo the knocking and just phasing through the front door.

As expected, the giant house was dead silent, not even the chime of a clock to fill the space. There were no decorations up or small signs of holiday cheer, just the cold dark walls and endless hallways. I had no idea how I was supposed to find him in this maze, so I opted for floating through the walls leisurely, hoping I'd come across him eventually. It took almost as long as the trip over here, but eventually I did, and what I found was not something I had counted on.

He was in some room with a fire place, sitting in front of the fire with a glass of alcohol in his hand, an empty bottle on a table next to him and one on the floor. I got a bad feeling in my stomach as I floated down next to him, tentatively coming around the corner of the chair to see if he was even awake.

He wasn't, probably passed out long ago in a drunken stupor. Honestly, it was kinda pathetic, and ridiculously enough, I felt guilty about it. I humphed unhappily, sitting cross legged in the air before him as I tried to figure out what to do. He'd probably be pissed if I woke him up. But he couldn't very well sleep here, could he?

I looked up and floated through the ceiling, looking for his bedroom or a guest room as something to do. I spent some time floating in circles before I came upon a spare bedroom not far from the den he was currently passed out in, which kinda sucks cause now I can't use distance as an excuse to not move him.

Sighing, I floated back in front of his chair, at least taking the glass out of his hand. Curiously, I rose the glass to my nose and sniffed, sticking my tongue out in disgust at the pungent smell. Alcohol was so gross. Vlad muttered something in his sleep, a hand twitching. I didn't bother holding my breathe, knowing he was way too drunk to know I was there.

"Why me?" I groaned, slapping a hand over my face as I stood to my feet, knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if I didn't do _something_.

"Okay fruitloop, you owe me for this." I grunted, putting his arm over my shoulder and hoisting him to his feet.

It was a damn good thing I'd hit my growth spurt, because without it I'd probably fall over. He wasn't particularly heavy, thanks to my ghost powers, but he was still at least half a head taller than me.

"Come on Vlad." I muttered, shaking him slightly to at least get him to walk a bit.

He mumbled something, peeking open an eye and looking around in confusion till he settled on me, brows furrowing.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me. Now help me walk a bit, your heavy." I grumbled, gently shifting his body against mine.

Somehow I got him to listen to me, and we slowly made our way to the doorway. Each step was agonizingly slow, and Vlad kept mumbling things, but we at least got out into the hallway.

"Maybe I should have told you to come to our Christmas party," I talked to myself, hoping to stay sane as I realized I was dragging my drunk arch enemy to bed, "This is kinda sad, Plasmius."

He didn't say anything in response but that was probably cause he didn't hear me. It took forever, but we finally made it to the bedroom. Unfortunately, it seemed Vlad was just starting to wake up cause he started walking more on his own and his mumbling became slightly more coherent, though it was clear he was still totally out of it. I knew my ghost half would alert his senses more, and I didn't want him to wake up so I covered his eyes and transformed into my human half. I failed to take into account his sudden increase in weight though, and staggered slightly, almost falling over.

"Okay, here we go," I gasped, turning him around and sitting him on the bed. "Sorry Vlad, but your just gonna have to sleep in your clothes cause I am so not abou-"

"Maddie?" he mumbled, eyes rolling around his head.

"No genius, it's me. Danny." I said, rolling my eyes and moving to slide his arm off my shoulders, pushing him to the bed.

But then his grip tightened, and instead of falling to the bed himself he dragged me with him.

"V-Vlad!" I stuttered, stiffening when I felt his hand roam up my chest, slipping under the loose shirt.

He groaned something, clutching me tighter against him, spooning my back against his chest. I felt a blush burn across my face when his lips moved over my ear, trailing soft kisses down my neck and still moving his hands so provocatively.

"Vlad! K-knock it off!" I yelled, pushing him away.

I don't know how drunk he was, and really, at this point I didn't care. I just wanted him to stop touching me, but it seemed the more I tried to push him away the more he hung on.

"Maddie..." he groaned, hands roaming lower. At this rate he'd be _feeling _that I wasn't Maddie.

"Wake up Vlad! It's me, Danny!" I yelled, managing to turn around in his arms and planning on sticking my fist in his face.

But then he gripped my hair with one of his hands and pulled me in, pressing his lips against mine. My heart thumped madly in my chest, shock mixing with fear. He groaned into the kiss, oblivious to my muffled shouts and beating fists. Oh, this was _not _happening!

"Vlad! STOP!" I shouted, heart still smacking against my ribcage when he finally stopped kissing me and looked down, brows furrowed in confusion.

"...Your not Maddie." he muttered, still looking a little dizzy.

"Damn straight I'm not! Now get off!" I yelled, shaking like a leaf.

Vlad shook head head, wincing but slowly coming out of it. He looked down at me again, and his eyes widened in horror, jumping away from me as though I were poisonous.

"D-Daniel! What on earth-!" He stopped, clutching his head and looking throughly horrified. "Oh my god..."

"Yeah. Oh my god is right, fruitloop." I stuttered, getting off the stupid bed and inching my way to the door. "We're gonna pretend that never happened, a-and I'm gonna go home now, o-okay?"

"Daniel...Daniel, wait-" He reached out for me but I jumped away.

"You know, I think I've had enough touching for one night. Merry Christmas Vlad."

And I was gone like a bat outta hell.


	12. 89 Defeat

My parents still give me a bed time.

It's rather embarrassing, actually. I'm due to be eighteen in four months and apparently I'm not mature enough to decide when to go to bed for myself. I'm going to graduate high school in three months, and I still have a bed time. I save Amity Park on a daily basis, and I'm too irresponsible to be trusted without a _bed time_.

If you couldn't tell, I'm a little irritated by this.

Granted, they don't know that I save the town on a daily basis. I suppose the fact that I've broken my curfew every night for the past four years doesn't helped, either. And...maybe on some nights I intentionally stay up too late on the computer, but hey, I'm not perfect. I take my down time where I can get it.

But they've even got me bed-ward bound on weekends.

If I'm home on a Saturday night, my bed time is 10 o'clock. Friday nights? 10 o'clock. Though, to be fair, it's probably because I can't even make my curfew during the week that they have the weekend restrictions, but whatever. And I guess it doesn't really matter if they claim to have me on a set bed time, cause I don't follow it anyways. I think it's just a pride issue. That and Vlad makes fun of me for it, which irritates me to no end.

"Danny! Bed time!"

Dammit!

* * *

Maybe it's just me, but I'm due to be 18 in three months and I'm a bit peeved that I still have a bed time. I'm sure plenty of other 17 year olds have a bed time (right??) but it just irritates me. Thus, this was born.

Hey! What did the square say to the circle? Your pointless!!


	13. 95 Hope

I'm avoiding my responsibilities.

_

* * *

_

_God, this is so stupid. I can't believe I-_

He put his hand on my shoulder, a generally friendly motion though it was all a cover. Mom and Dad smiled as he talked. Well, Dad did anyways. Mom looked kinda mad, obviously not liking whatever it was he was saying. I just sat there, a determined scowl set into my face as I felt the warm heat radiating off his hand.

_So stupid..._

A mere pseudo-comforting squeeze instantly sent my imagination wild. We were alone, it was dark, he was more than just touching my shoul-

_Stop it!_

My glare deepened, forcing the traitorous thoughts away. I squirmed in the seat but Vlad just tightened his grip possessively, making me bite my lip. He was still talking, but then Mom interrupted him. I tried to focus on what she was saying, but my mind kept going back to other thoughts. My birthday was next week, I'll be eighteen then. Twenty-four years isn't that bad, is it? Really, age is just a number.

"Oh come now Jack, do you actually think..."

God his voice is gorgeous. A deep, baritone sound, always resonating in my ears. Even when he threatens to kill me I can't help but admire his voice. It's just so..._powerful. _

Dammit! I was doing it again. It's ridiculous how much of an effort is required to force him out of my brain. I clenched my fists and tensed. He noticed instantly, of course, but instead of removing his hand he just added another. Bastard. I swear he's doing this on purpose. But...certainly not for the reasons I want him to.

My shoulders sagged and I didn't even care if he was confused by the action, or if he saw it as some weird form of submission. He was talking again, and I felt his eyes glance to me for a fraction of a second. As pathetic as it sounds, I actually felt the tell tale flutter of butterflies in my stomach for a moment. This was just sad.

Maybe I've become the fruitloop now, secretly pining away at the single most impossible person on the planet. I mean honestly, _Vlad Masters_? I'm absolutely crazy. It really doesn't help matters that he's already trying to ensnare me in his own clutches. The last thing I need is attention from him. It's bad enough that I spend the nights dreaming up different motives for him, ones that don't involve a father-son relationship and more like a-

"Why don't we ask Danny? It's his choice."

"I think that's an excellent idea, Jack." He said with a flourish to his words.

He looked down at me, gently guiding my shoulders so I'd look up at him. My heart fluttered more erratically, brain inwardly freaking out because I had no clue what they were talking about and I didn't want to look like an idiot in front of Vlad. He stared down at me expectantly, smoldering eyes momentarily distracting me for a second.

"Well, what do you say little badger?"

"Uh...yes?"

"Excellent! We can move your things in this week!"

Wait, what?


	14. 98 Unknown

Don't even ask. I can't seem to get into the groove and it's getting me down. It's also why I haven't updated or written anything of relevance lately. I stare at my screen and I want the next chapter of Domination or Adversus Adverto to write itself. So far, no luck. :(

Writer's block sucks.

* * *

We were there, existing, watching, sitting invisible on the steeples of a white cathedral. Low chatter, mindless _talk_,fluttered up to us on the wings of a dying bird. It was a low, buzzing metronome in our ears. Fleeting sounds came with it, the blaring horn of a car, the shouting of people far below. That's all it was though, fleeting.

"Vlad."

He listened.

People had become as fleeting at the sounds they make, our memories a hindrance. We were ageless, unaffected by time. Forever we followed an endless cycle of existence. Meaning had long since slipped away, leaving us with empty, ever watching shells.

"I want to die." I whispered.

And still, he listened.


	15. 22 Jealousy

Hi guys. I know, again with the no updating. :( I wish I could be as talented as Pearl84 or PixieGirl13, but alas, I'm not. Just to let those of you who care know, I have no clue when the next chapter of Adversus Adverto will be up, nor do I know when Unexpected Abuse will be up. Admittedly, I actually have the next chapter to Domination done, along with a good portion of the next _next _chapter, but I'm probably gonna hold off on posting them till they're both done. I don't wanna mess something up with the plot, ya know?

But more importantly! I've got a Mac! A MacBook Pro, to get technical. :D Sure it cost me my entire savings account, but that's okay cause I'm officially _advanced._ My Dad says I've just succumbed to Macintosh's superior marketing technique, but that's okay. Their superior marketing technique lets me type in the safety of my room until 2 in the morning. Win. Oh! And more MORE importantly, I'm officially 18! No more bedtime for me, bitches! Whoo! I spent my 18th birthday buying cigars, a hookah, and getting a shinny industrial bar in my ear. :3 Then I spent the night at my kind-of girlfriend's house and got _wasted._ ...what? I...I got chocolate wasted. Haven't you all seen that movie, Grown Ups? Jeeeez...

Okay, moving on since the majority of you guys probably don't give a flying flea about my previous paragraph, this story was inspired by that one song, 'According to You.' ...No seriously. It's kinda cheesy and lame, but at least it's _some_ kind of update, right?

* * *

"I dunno Tuck. Things just...aren't going so well."

My techo-geek for a best friend doubled dipped into the nacho lava he'd built, dripping some of the cheese on a laptop and making a strangled cry of horror. Hastily, he stuffed the rest of the nacho into his mouth and looked around for something to wipe away the hot cheese with.

"Tucker? Are you even listening to me?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah man, I hear you."

I made a face of disgust when he picked up the laptop and licked the cheese off, having been unsuccessful in finding a spare cloth.

"Dude. That's gross."

He shrugged, giving me a goofy grin and licking his lips.

"All for the sake of my laptop. Besides, it still tastes the same."

"But you have five other laptops."

"Yeah, but _this _one is my most important."

"I thought the Mac was your most important."

"That's my other most important. Seriously Danny, you just wouldn't understand these things."

I gave up via an amused sigh, watching my friend repress his face to the screen and resume typing.

"So it's not working out, huh?" he prompted, returning to the main reason of my visit.

I sighed again, although this time it was definitely not in amusement.

"Yeah...I mean, it's been nearly three years now. Maybe that's just too long."

"Well what about married people? They stay together for a lot longer than three years."

I wrinkled my nose.

"That's different. I'm nineteen, not forty-something."

Tucker shrugged. I fiddled with the string of my jacket for a bit, a displeased frown set into my face. The only sound in Tucker's room was the soft tapping of keys, occasionally interrupted by the beeping of some random device in his cramped space. I looked around, distracting myself more than anything. Almost every inch of Tucker's room was covered by some device or random piece of technology. College had definitely not curbed Tuck's obsession with tech. If anything it only strengthened it. Now he has other geeks to speak Esperanto with, and some of these geeks are _not_ ugly, if you know what I mean.

"How're you and Meia doing?" I asked, having a feeling that I was drawing unnecessary comparisons. Even with Jazz at Princeton, she still manages to annoy me with the psychology crap.

"Good. She's spending spring break with her parents, but she calls everyday." I didn't miss the pleased smile on his face, feeling a little jealous.

"That's cool."

Tucker glanced at me, raising an eye brow. Was my tone too obvious? Apparently it was because he suddenly shut down his computer and turned to face me, a sympathetic expression on his visage.

"Things are that bad huh?"

"I dunno why! It's not like anything's changed!" The rant exploded from my mouth, uninhibited now that I had Tucker's complete attention. "One week we're fine and the next she barely talks to me. I don't know what to do!"

"She doesn't talk to you?" Tucker blinked, sitting straighter, "That's weird. Usually Sam has no problem telling you when you mess up."

"I know, which is why I'm so confused."

"Well..." Tucker fished around for answers, as lost as I was, "Have you done anything different?"

"No...I don't think so...I guess I've been fighting ghosts more, but not by much."

His sympathetic face fell into a look, that same look he had when he called me clueless all through freshmen year.

"What?" I blinked.

"Danny, how much is 'not by much?'"

"Oh, Tucker, it's not that." I waved a hand flippantly, "Sam's used to my ghost hunting, she knows it'll die down eventually."

"So how many dates have you missed?"

"...Uh..."

"That's what I thought."

"No, seriously, she gets mad, but it's not like she would end it over that. I miss them all the time."

"You're really not helping yourself here."

"Wha-? No, I mean, I always make it up to her. It's not like I miss them on purpose!"

"I know you don't, but maybe she's just getting tired of it. Three years _is _a bit of a long time, I guess. Maybe you're right and the relationship is just dying out."

I blinked, my stare slowly falling on something small, silver, and flashing. I wasn't really seeing it though.

"Yeah...maybe..."

Tucker looked a little uncomfortable, his gaze unsatisfied with my silence. I didn't really notice, caught up in memories of all the years. It really has been a long time...

"Has she dropped any hints?"

"Huh?" I looked at him, pulling myself away from the past.

"Like, hints, said anything that might mean she's unhappy with something?"

"No," I sighed, "Like I said, she just won't talk."

"Danny," Tucker rolled his eyes exasperatedly, "Hints aren't something she would pointedly say. That's why they're called 'hints.' You know, the things you missed through most of high school."

"Oh." I mumbled sheepishly, wracking my recent memories. "Well...now that you mention it, she did say something about me liking ghost fighting more than her, which is silly, I mean-what?" I stopped mid-chuckle, noticing that look on Tuck's face again.

"Danny," He rolled his eyes exasperatedly, "That's what her problem is. She doesn't get enough attention from you. She thinks you don't care about the relationship."

"What! But I do! Sam's my best friend, of course I care."

"Danny, she's your girlfriend."

"Well that too."

He sighed, shaking his head hopelessly and grabbing more nachos. I pursed my lips, having a strong feeling that I was missing something here.

"I buy her those black roses all the time. And I tell her I love her. I spend as much time with her as I can. I can't exactly choose the ghost attacks you know. It's not my fault they happen at the most inconvenient times."

"Yeah, I know."

"And Sam knows that! I don't understand why it's suddenly a problem now!" I threw my arms up in frustration.

"Well," Tuck fiddled a little uncomfortably, shrugging, " If she _is_ getting tired of it, maybe this is just her was of dropping hints that she wants to...you know...break it off."

I fell back in the chair with a depressed sigh, the beginnings of frustration already dying out. Was Tucker right? Was my relationship with Sam going stale, and all because of ghosts? But if that's the case then will anyone ever want to stay with me?

"Ghost powers suck." I grumbled, reaching forward and grabbing a handful of bare nachos.

Tucker gazed at me sympathetically, nodding in agreement even though he had no idea what I really meant. I crunched on the dry chips, staring blankly out the window. It'd be nice if a solution would just fly through it and smack me in the face, but I don't even really know what it would be a solution for. Sam's discontent with my ghost powers? Our fading relationship in general? Is there any point in fixing it anyways? I don't want to loose a friend, though...

I glanced at the clock, exhaling loudly and shoulders sagging.

"What's up?"

"I gotta meet Sam at the Skulk and Lurk in fifteen minutes."

"Eeesh," Tucker winced, "Have fun in that place."

"I'm not allowed. It's one of the rules."

With I hefty grunt I pulled myself from his bed, yawning and stretching to the ceiling. I'd have to be careful about falling asleep in the dark poetry-reading book store. Sam would skin me alive if that happened again. Tucker turned around and turned his computer on again, popping in a few more nachos.

"Hey," he said through a mouth full of chips. I turned to look at him, smirking at the cheese sauce dripping from a corner of his mouth. "Good luck, dude."

"Thanks. Although I'm not really sure what for."

"Eh," He waved a hand, "We'll just say women in general, okay?"

"Sounds good to me," I laughed, a pair of bright white rings encompassing my middle and spreading along my body. "See ya, Tuck."

He said good bye and then I was floating above his roof, wind blowing my hair around chaotically. I squinted against the midday sun, automatically doing a visual check over of my town and simultaneously thinking about approaching exams.

I was just about wrapping up my sophomore year at Amity Park University. The college was small, but they weren't picky about test scores and I didn't have to pay for room and board so it was my only option. I didn't mind staying at home anyways. It let me keep an eye on Amity and I still got to see my old friends from high school, like Valarie. Tucker went on to MIT, so I only get to see him when he comes home for break, but that's okay. We've got web-cams, so we basically see each other all the time. Sam went to APU with me for the first year, but then she decided she wanted to really crack down on political activism, so she moved to a college about half a state away. It's kinda put an even bigger strain on our relationship, despite the fact that I can be at her new college in thirty minutes via the ghost zone. But the distance only puts a bigger riff between us, and if I wanted to get right down to it, her moving away was probably the first sign that things were coming to an end.

The Skulk and Lurk was easy to pick out. The building, being made up of blacks, purples, and navy blues, stood out like a sore thumb against the bright spring flowers and colorful buildings surrounding it. Tucker's farewell of good luck must have paid off too, because I didn't run into any ghosts. Well except for the box ghost, but he barely counts.

"You're late."

I came out from behind an ally, panting and furrowing my brows in confusion. Sam was standing in front of me with her arms crossed, looking irritated. I pulled out my phone and glanced at the digital clock, still not understanding the source of her current unhappiness.

"Only by three minutes."

She didn't say anything in response, staring at me in something close to disappointment and instantly making me feel defensive. Oh yeah, this date was gonna go swell. Still, I tried to ignore it and took her hand, leading the way to her favorite book store. Sam was cold and stiff, but at least she didn't swipe her hand away. The inside of the building was just as dark and depressing as the outside. Black and purple cloth hung from the ceiling and candles were used as lighting, set in skull holders on every table. I took her to her favorite spot, hoping she'd relax a little and enjoy herself.

It seemed to work when I went and bought a couple drinks, asking the waiter to add some of those spider charms to her glass. They sunk to the bottom of the cup and chinked lightly, sparkling below the bitter tea. By the time I returned Sam greeted me with a weak smile, but it was a smile none-the-less. I grinned back, sitting next to her and placing a light kiss on her cheek. I think I caught another patron glare at me, but I didn't really care. People weren't supposed to grin in here, much less show affection. Sam didn't care either, taking a sip of her drink and shuffling some of the poems she'd written.

"Are those the ones you read to me last week?"

"No, they're different. And that was two weeks ago, Danny, not last week."

Oops.

"Uh..." I tried to cover my mistake and failed. So much for things going well, "Um, so what are they about?"

"The usual."

Ah. That meant death, darkness, and general misery. I swallowed the sigh in my throat, forcing a smile and taking a gulp of the hot tea. The band on stage finished screaming their last song, and for the next two hours I listened to goths, emo's, and wanna-bees alike read poetry. Admittedly, it wasn't my idea of fun, but Sam loved it so I always joined her, at least whenever I could. Her poems weren't half bad too, in fact, I usually liked them. I just wished the subject would show a little variety once in a while.

"Blank despair, empty light,

Nothingness born from nothing.

Evil born from evil, building a pit of darkness.

Blank despair, empty light,

Nothingness."

I didn't clap or smile or cheer. To 'applaud' someone, you were supposed to give them an apathetic stare and or a moving nod. It was a good thing though, cause that's usually all I can manage after so long. The aspiring poet walked off stage to dead silence, going back to his table and looking miserable. Sam promptly stood up, as it was finally her turn, and walked on stage. Without missing a beat, she instantly dived into her poems, reading them like a pro. They were about death, of course, but I caught the references to "living a half-life" and "hovering between existences." Sam found my "half-existence" to be fascinating, and often incorporated them into her poems. I didn't mind, of course, but they did kinda depress me. Being half-dead is bad enough, listening to my "fate" be woven into poetic art doesn't exactly cheer me up.

Sam was just finishing up her last poem when the absolute worst thing that could ever happen occurred. I met her eyes coincidentally and smiled, suddenly feeling a rush of cold that escaped through a gasp and spiraled in blue between my eyes. Sam's eyes widened for a fraction of a second and then narrowed, never breaking a beat in her reading. I was frozen, not wanting to leave her mid-poem and face wrath and possible break up but _really _not wanting to let someone get hurt just cause I was too scared to face my girlfriend. I winced, consequently not moving and feeling something start to twitch in my face. She would kill me if I left, especially since it was probably just the box ghost again. But what if it wasn't?

I gasped again, another curl of blue smoke slipping out from between my lips and making my choice for me. Okay, that meant there were two ghosts floating around out there. I couldn't let them hurt someone. Sam saw the resolve in my eyes and I mouthed the word sorry as I stood up. Her amethyst eyes hardened with anger and I would have shivered at the feeling of doom, but _another _curl of blue mist emitted from my ghostly core. There were _three _ghosts? Who on earth-

Three cackling shrieks echoed throughout the Skulk and Lurk, cutting Sam off mid-sentence and causing the rest of the customers to look around in mild interest. Then people started screaming when the three cackles turned into three streaks of green, the ghosts zooming right by my head in a blur. Chaos erupted and the death-loving patrons fled at the sight of the ghosts, completely ruining Sam's poetry read.

I saw her on stage for a second until she was lost with the crowd, a look of resentful anger the last thing I'd seen on her face. I scowled myself, successfully pissed off. Was it my fault the ghosts decided to attack? The cackling suddenly echoed from right behind me, and I spun around to face three undead vultures.

Wait. Vultures?

"Jesus Christ, is Vlad _trying _to break me and Sam up!" I yelled, throwing my arms up in frustration.

"Eh?" the oldest and most annoying bird scrunched an eye, flapping his wings loudly and trying to stay afloat. "I don't know about that, ghost boy, but ve vere just out flying around and thought it'd be nice to stop by and annoy you!"

My eye twitched. Seriously, I could lie better than these goons. A quick survey told me the Skulk and Lurk was empty, both of patrons and my angry possibly-not-girlfriend-anymore girlfriend. With a distracted groan, I let my ghost half loose and proceeded to beat the snot out of the three birds, not even having to think about it.

This was the last straw for Sam, no doubt about it. That look she'd given me had been nothing short of "I'm done." And if that wasn't a sign then the fact that she'd left with the rest of the screaming citizens was. I sighed, feeling a crunch of bone on fist as I sent one of the squawking birds soaring. Was I really all that upset, though? Sure, I care about Sam, but things just...aren't the same anymore. Like Tucker said, the relationship's gone stale. It's depressing, like, really depressing, but only cause this runs the risk of Sam never being my friend again. I guess we just weren't meant to be boyfriend-girlfriend, even if everyone's been convinced we'd be married by 25 since high school.

One of the birds tried to bite me, getting dangerously close to sinking it's beak in my shoulder. I spun around and blasted it through the roof, putting a hole in the ceiling and probably shedding pure sunlight in this place for the first time since forever. I'm surprised it was setting on fire or something. Wincing at the thought, I quickly flew through to hole to avoid the possibility of that happening. The vultures followed me up, tailing me all the way into the clouds.

I needed someone who could put up with the chaoticness of my half-ghost life. I grabbed two of them by the ankle, cringing in disgust at the feel of their scaly legs. Someone who would understand without me having to try and explain myself all the time. They screeched when I sucked them up with the thermos, faces getting stretched by the rings of blue light. Not even Sam, whose been by my side since day one, could put up with the ghost fighting and general unpredictable weirdness for long. The last vulture came at me with flashing talons, but I just side stepped it in the air and sucked it up with the thermos. I needed someone who could understand my ghost half.

...Yeah. I was never gonna find a girl like that.

I couldn't find Sam anywhere after I deposited Vlad's lackeys back into the ghost zone. She wouldn't answer her phone either. Her mom slammed the door in my face when I knocked (she still doesn't like me) and I assumed she wasn't in her room cause I knocked on the window and she didn't answer. I was left with no other choice but to return home or to Tuckers. Either way, I'd get peppered with questions about ghosts or about my relationship with Sam and I so didn't want to discuss either.

So, I went to Vlad's. Besides, I still had to chew him out about setting his goons on me when I was with Sam.

Now maybe you're thinking, "What? Vlad? But he's your archenemy! Gasp!" However, if there's one thing bigger than my relationship with Sam, it's my relationship with Vlad. Being the only other half-ghost, it's natural that he'd end up making a significant impact on my life. At least that's the psychological bull Jazz spews to justify me going to visit him. I think it just makes her nervous that I hang out with a 45 year old villain. Even though he's chilled out a bit, as far as I'm concerned he's still a fruitloop, no matter how much his hot head cools down. Ya see, as I started getting older, Vlad stopped being so power hung-well, no he's still power hungry, but he stopped going after my mom so much. For a while things were actually kinda weird between us cause one day he'd want to murder me and the next he just wanted to tease and joke around with me. I liked funny-joke-around Vlad a lot more. Less pain.

Anyways, eventually he cooled down enough that I didn't mind being around him so much. He stopped trying to kill my family and seduce my mother and spent more of his time bugging the crap out of me. I know, I should probably be annoyed by it, but in an odd way I'm kind of flattered. Even his world-domination plots have circled down to Amity Park-domination plots, which he already has to begin with so that leaves him nothing to do but spend his time bothering me. I'm not even really sure what he wants with me or how he sees me anymore, to be honest. I have a hard time seeing him as an enemy myself. He just...I dunno...sorta lost that manic crazy person gleam. He's still a fruitloop though, don't get me wrong. He's just not...I don't even know. He's weird.

_Anyways_, I started spending more time with him this year cause Sam's been gone a lot. So we can blame my budding relationship with said villain on her and be done with it, right? Eh, maybe not, but either way she wasn't there and he was and I was bored out of my skull. It's not like it means anything that I spend most of my evenings drinking tea and playing chess. I've gotten quite good, by the way. Almost beat him three times this year. Not only is he there to provide entertainment, but he helps me with my homework too. Mom's busy in the lab a lot more cause both her kids are grown up and she's feeling pretty empty nest-ish right now, and Dad...well Dad couldn't exactly help me with my eighth grade homework sooo... Besides, Vlad's surprisingly good at astrophysics. Oh, and he's really useful to have around when I bite off more than I can chew with ghosts. Jazz is off at college and having a life now, so I don't have my personal ER anymore. Or I didn't until Vlad caught me trying to wrap a partially severed arm with neosporin and gauze. He takes care of the first aid now.

So, in conclusion, Vlad's still kinda psycho but not so psycho that I wanna punch his brains out (usually) and Sam's still gonna break up with me. Awesome. Why do I feel like I just wrote a paper?

A particularly strong gust of wind suddenly threw me off balance, adding the perfect end to an internal monologue of justification. I shook my head and straightened out, ducking under a cloud and approaching the higher end of Amity Park. In a few short minutes, Vlad's extravagant mansion stood out in the field of other extravagant mansions. Probably owning to the fact that a large telescope was sticking out of one end of the house, courtesy of an argument we'd gotten into. I calculated the position of Neptune correctly but Vlad thought he was right so he had the telescope installed to prove me wrong. Needless to say, that was a really good day for me.

Spring flowers were already in full bloom and swaying gently in the wind as I alighted on the front steps. A quick check told me I was alone so I reverted back to my human form and knocked on the door. Luckily, I remembered I was here to yell at Vlad for ruining my relationship with Sam, so I used the half a minute I had to compose my face into a scowl before a tall figure opened the door, sporting his usual smug smile.

"Why Daniel, what a pleasant surprise."

"Uh-huh. Can it, Vlad. I have a bone to pick with you."

He looked down at me in mild amusement when I pushed past him and marched inside, closing the door with a quiet snap and following after me.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, my boy."

I glared up at his innocent smile. He looked more like the cat who swallowed the canary in my opinion.

"Oh sure you don't. You couldn't possibly have sent your three bird lackeys to ruin my date with Sam, right?"

"Bird lackeys? I have three bird lackeys?"

Okay, now he was just screwing with me.

"Thanks to you," I continued as though he hadn't talked, "She hasn't spoken a word to me since the attack and I'm about ninety-nine percent sure she's going to break up our relationship the moment I see her again."

I glared up at Vlad who looked oddly pleased.

"Well clearly she wasn't the right person for you if she couldn't even handle a few ghost attacks. Honestly, my boy, I did you a favor."

"Ha! So you _did _break me and Sam up!"

"Did I say that?"

I narrowed my eyes when he strutted his way into a living room, throwing another cat and canary smirk at me. Without further ado, I march after him, coming to a halt right in front of him and stopping him in his tracks.

"I know it was you, Vlad. You're the only one who employs those vultures ghosts, and subtlety isn't one of your specialties."

"Is it?" he grinned, rather close to my face now that I think about it.

I had a strong feeling that I was missing something here.

"Uuuh..."

Vlad laughed at my lack of response, ruffling my hair good-naturedly and walking past me. Yeah, I totally missed something.

"Hey, I'm not done with you!" I called.

The quiet living room had a contemporary style to it, yet still didn't sacrifice comfort. He relaxed in the high-back chair he'd been occupying before I came over, motioning to the couch which I gladly took. It was oddly shaped, the seat cushions being longer than the back, but I didn't mind cause that meant I got to sprawl comfortably on it. Vlad was staring at me with that warm look in his eyes again, chin resting in his hand and a gentle smile on his face.

"What?" I blinked.

"Nothing. Just waiting for you to continue trying to tell me how upset you are about Miss Manson's impending break up."

"I am upset about the impending break up." I frowned, flipping onto my stomach to get a better look at him.

"Are you?"

"Yes." I pouted stubbornly.

"Then why are you here rather than attempting to console Miss Manson."

My retort quickly died before it even began. Damn him and his good points.

"I don't know where she is."

"Oh come now," He said knowingly, "Surely the great Danny Phantom can locate his own girlfriend."

"She doesn't want to talk to me."

"Of course she doesn't. She's busy throwing a temper tantrum. Your job as a caring significant other is to find her and calm said tantrum."

I pursed my lips. I really didn't want to do that.

"And yet your not," He continued, "Instead you chose to come see me, leaving Miss Manson to stew in her own devices and practically pave the way for an inevitable separation."

"It was bound to happen sooner or later. We've been on the rocks for ages."

"What does that matter? If anything that statement proves what I'm trying to say, don't you think?" He raised an eyebrow, victory glinting in his deep, blue eyes.

"Well..." I paused, the thought occurring to me that maybe I should consider what Vlad was implying. I like Sam, I really do. That much was true, but...

"She's my best friend." I argued, as though that explained everything.

"I'm sure she is, but friend and girlfriend are very different things, little badger."

"I know that!"

"Then why are you not as upset about your failing relationship with her as you probably should be? I wonder if you are not more concerned about the impact this will have on your friendship afterwords rather than the break up itself."

And that was the whole issue, wasn't it? The fact that me and Sam were breaking up wasn't the problem, it was the effect it was gonna have on our friendship. If we can't even stay together as boyfriend-girlfriend, then how can we stay friends? Especially with her going to college so far away.

"Yeah," I sighed, slumping back down into the couch, "I guess that's the real problem."

Vlad was quiet, even though I could practically sense the waves of smugness coming off him. He sat back in his own chair with an open expression, legs crossed and arms laid casually on his lap.

"I don't know what's gonna happen. Me and Tuck are still good friends, but that's different. ...I kinda have the feeling that Sam doesn't even _want _to talk to me anymore." I frowned, starting to feel a little angry. Vlad was quiet, listening. "Which is stupid cause she knows about my ghost life and how demanding it is. It's not like I miss some of our dates on purpose," I glanced at him for a moment, searching for what? Approval? "I can't choose when the ghosts attack. And Sam always acts like it's my fault."

"She's feeling encroached by your ghost life, Daniel. I'm sure you can see that."

"Yeah, I do, but what am I supposed to do about it? I'm half ghost whether she likes it or not. I guess maybe it was easier for her to deal with me running off to fight ghosts when we weren't dating or something, but I can't ignore a scream for help just cause she wants to read depressing poetry for an audience to go cut themselves to." Alright, so I was starting to feel a little more than angry now. Unfortunately for me, my temper was only building, and before I knew it I was out right venting.

"I mean, seriously! I give up all my free time the moment she asks, no matter how short the notice is, and she gets annoyed when I'm three minutes late for a date. I even do whatever _she _wants to do, no matter how much I don't like it. You think I enjoy going to poetry reads at the Skulk and Lurk?" I looked at Vlad for a heated moment, quickly glaring at the wall again. "No, I don't. And it's not my fault that she moved half a state away. I was still willing to fly through the ghost zone to see her, but she was always _busy_. It's like she was trying to get back at me or something!"

"I swear, she's probably just been waiting for a reason to break up with me," I scowled, temper slowly dying down again. I really should get a better reign on my emotions. Vlad's probably more disturbed that usu-well, no, never mind, he probably expected it.

Said person was quiet for a long moment, giving me the much needed time to completely cool my head. I blew a strand of hair out of my face irritably, the lingering frustration keeping a scowl on my face.

"...So I did do you a favor." He said pompously, "Your welcome, little badger."

I snorted, shaking my head and feeling a grudging smile worm it's way onto my face. Stupid fruitloop.

"Yeah, thanks Vlad." I rolled my eyes, but then a sudden thought occurred to me.

"Hey, why did you send your vultures to sabotage my relationship anyways?"

"Tch." Vlad waved a hand, "She wasn't good enough for you."

"Oh, and you decided this for me when?"

"While you were too blind to see it."

"Uh huh." I quirked my eye brows, "So who is good enough for me, Vladdie?"

"Who knows?" he shrugged, not looking at me. "They could be right in front of you and you'd never know."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence." I grumbled, sinking my head in a pillow with a sigh.

He was quiet for a long while again, but it was deeper, I think. Either way it left me plenty of time to think about my newest predicament, one that almost equaled to mine and Sam's friendship falling apart. She was my best friend, arguably the reason I got my powers to begin with. She'd been with me every step of the way whether I wanted her to or not and was always there for me to fall on when I needed someone. But still, even with all of that, she couldn't deal with my ghost side forever.

"If Sam can't even stay with me," I said quietly, "Who else will?"

The somber air turned thick, a kind of shallow misery floating around. I felt like I could practically reach out and get my answer, like hope wasn't nearly as far as I thought it was but I was too blind. In many ways, it was significantly worse than just feeling depressed and lonely. Now I was depressed, lonely, _and _stupid.

"Perhaps..." Vlad began quietly, hesitant and mindful of his word choice, "Perhaps a relationship with a life long friend wasn't the right choice to begin with."

"What do you mean?" I furrowed my brows, using my elbows to prop myself up.

"Samantha has known you for a very long time, and you know her. You both have each others faults and attractions practically memorized, but it's so ingrained that maybe it could be considered too much. Nothing new can be added to the relationship, no challenges or surprises. So when your ghost half was suddenly thrust into an already permanent mixture, it added a level of chaos that you two couldn't bend with."

"You were capable of coping with your ghost half during your younger years, but as you can clearly see, ultimately Samantha was incapable of managing a relationship with your ghost half _because _she knows you so well. What she expected out of the relationship didn't happen and what you now expect-and need-because of your ghost half was left unmet, dooming the relationship from the beginning."

"So..." I scrunched my face, hoping I didn't sound too stupid, "You're saying I should try dating someone who's not my friend?"

"I'm saying you should find someone who canunderstand your ghost half, little badger."

"But where the heck can I find someone like that!" I threw my hands up in frustration, finally sitting up and staring at him, "Human-ghost hybrids are unheard of in every realm so even if I did find someone they'd freak out the moment they learned about my half-dead status! The only people-no, the only _person _who could possibly fit that bill is...is..._oh_..."

And suddenly I started seeing Vlad in a whole new light.


	16. 13 Death

Hm. I'm repeating this plot. ...Hm.

HEY! Do any of you watch Adventure Time? Isn't is _awesome! _:D

* * *

"Vlad."

…

"Vlad...wake up."

…

"_Vlad."_

I groaned, ready to throttle the young boy currently whispering in my ear. I rolled over and glanced at the clock through bleary eyes. And at two in the morning no less.

"This better be important Daniel or so help me-"

"Vlad, please," he sounded like he was about to cry, "Y-you have to help me. I...I think I died."

My eyes snapped open. I felt the chilly air shift as I forced myself up, Daniel's ghostly form floating backwards. He was hovering over my bed, wring his hands together and looking ready to have a panic attack. I rubbed my hands over my face, making sure I was fully awake before I asked him to repeat his statement. Surely I had misheard...

"What did you just say?"

"I think I _died_." he hissed, voice cracking and eyes shining too brightly.

Silence. I stared blankly at him, not quite sure how to respond. Surely he was joking?

"Okay Daniel," I sat straight and held my hand out, trying to understand what was happening, "Just...calm down. Everything's going to be fine. Sit, child, there's no need to float there and have a mental break down. There you go, just sit and breathe."

He took several shaky breathes, his fists clenching and unclenching against his folded knees. His eyes were darting everywhere, moving as erratically at his shallow breathing. He wasn't calming down.

"Daniel," I moved closer to him, restraining the urge to just knock him out. I grabbed Danny's upper arms and shook him a bit, his eyes finally snapping onto me.

"Calm down," I said firmly, squeezing his arms. He nodded and took several more deep breathes, eyes not leaving my own. This must have been some nightmare...

"Now," I let go of him slowly, "Start at the beginning. What happened and why on earth are you in my bedroom at two in the morning?"

"I-I was on my usual patrol when I came across Spectra and B-Bertrand. W-We started fighting and I was doing okay but then Walker showed up! He had his whole a-army with him and...and..." he started hyperventilating again.

"Shhh, Daniel, you're okay, breathe." I frowned. He was starting to scare me a little. I reached out on a whim and pulled him close, expecting him to yell and push me away. But when Danny clutched my shoulders and buried his face in my chest, I knew something was truly wrong.

"They-they were e-everywhere!" he coughed, "I kept fighting and fighting b-but more just kept coming! S-Sam and T-Tucker...they were at home cause I thought I could-could handle it but-!"

"Breathe Daniel," I said quietly, petting his hair. He was shaking and his fingers were digging into my shoulders. I tried not to let my own apprehension show, but there was a bad feeling in my stomach.

"Walker kept telling them to attack," a sob broke through, "T-there were so many, and Spectra was still there. S-She kept saying he was gonna kill me so-so I could serve my _sentence_. I-I didn't believe her, but they...they kept attacking even when I couldn't hold my ghost form anymore!"

Another sob broke through. I felt my own breath go shallow, blood running cold. This couldn't be true...

"They kept hurting me and I couldn't move or see cause there was s-so much blood and Walker had a gun and he said...he said..."

_You ain't never gonna escape my prison now, Punk. _

"T-Then there was the sound of a gun shot and I woke up in the ghost zone!" he wailed, sobbing openly.

I sat there, staring at the far wall. Danny was crying and shaking in my lap. All I could do was stare down at him in shock, though. I felt numb, unable to process what he was saying. Instead my mind was reeling, denial blaring across my skull. The boy had to be mistaken, it was just a nightmare. This couldn't be real.

Immediately I touched two fingers to his neck, knowing there should still be a pulse despite his ghost form. After all, a beating heart circulates the oxygen in the lungs and we still need to breathe when we're in ghost form so his lungs should be operating...

But there was no pulse.

I shifted his weight and pressed a hand to his chest, the beginning frays of desperation unraveling my mind. This couldn't be happening.

But there was nothing. Danny cried harder when no heartbeat thumped against my palm, and with a sickening realization I started to notice other things wrong with his ghost form. He was too cold, icy even, and his body was more transparent. That healthy golden tan that usually accompanies his ghost form was gone too, replaced with a sickly, white pallor. I shook my head slowly.

He was...he...

"I didn't know where else to go! W-What am I gonna do? You have to help me Vlad!" He cried, "M-My parents! T-They're gonna _hate _me!"

"Daniel, your parents aren't going to hate you." I said in a calm voice that completely betrayed the frantic panic in my mind.

"What? Of course they are!" he croaked, "I'm a _ghost_!"

"Shhhh," I guided his head back to my chest, not ready to hear things like that because I was still trying to not believe them.

"Everything's going to be okay, little badger," I said quietly, staring at nothing and stroking his hair. "Everything's going to be okay..."

But I was lying. My world was crashing down around me and still, I was lying. The slow realization that Daniel was telling the truth kept hitting me like a ton of bricks. I didn't know how to handle this, so I held him close and stroked his hair until the tears stopped. His unnaturally light body was curled up in my arms, trembling, but remaining silent. I didn't let him go even after he fell into the ghostly equivalent of sleep, an agonized expression following him into the dreamless dark.

I don't know how long I sat there, cradling the ghost of Danny Fenton. My mind was devoid of any rational thought, denial stretching on till the last possible minute. Thoughts flitted across my head on occasion, such as homicidal plans to rip Walker, Spectra, and every other ghost involved in this from existence. I looked down at Danny, a painful ache starting in my chest as I took in his ghostly pallor. The repercussions started to hit me one by one, each block another weight adding to the metaphorical pile already crushing me.

Maddie and Jack are going to be distraught. No doubt Danny's...body...is still lying where ever that fight took place, bleeding out on the dewy grass. There will have to be a funeral, one that Daniel might even attend himself. His parents will probably start to grow desperate and search for him in the ghost zone, not caring if their son is a ghost. There's so way they'll be able to pay the funeral fees either, so I'm sure I'll be taking care of that. Not to mention a casket and gravesto-

I stopped. What was I _doing_?

"Oh God, Daniel..." I whispered, my hand starting to shake.

He was _dead_.


	17. Quid Pro Quo

Danny returned to Fenton Works in surlier mood than ever, the empty house doing nothing to brighten his stormy disposition. The rents weren't home, enjoying a teenager-free lunch at the stupid McMasters restaurant. The one Danny had just been kicked out of.

"Who does he think he is?" he grumbled, kicking a chair and slamming a cabinet for no reason.

Sam and Tucker had returned to their own homes as well, thanks to the strict curfew put in place by their oh-so-beloved Mayor. This left Danny quite lonely, not even Jazz to keep him company because _she _was allowed into McMasters even though she's still a teenager. Clearly, Vlad just likes pissing Danny off.

"Not like I even wanna eat at that gross place." He grumbled, slamming a bowl and a spoon on the counter. "Stupid Vlad and his stupid new rules. It's impossible to do _anything _around here!"

Danny determinedly ignored the voice in the back of his mind reminding him that this was technically all his fault. If he hadn't started those silly pranks none of this would be happening...

"But Vlad didn't have to take it so freaking far! Jeez, can't the guy take a joke?" he yelled to no one in particular, pouring colorful rings of sugary delight into the bowl and adding milk.

Danny stewed in his fury and chomped viciously on his bowl of Frootloops, imagining every spoonful was Vlad's head. This didn't really accomplish much except making him more irritated. He knew he had to find a way to put a stop to this psychopath before things got any worse.

"Always using his powers to lie and trick everybody..." he scowled, still talking to himself, "Everyone thinks he's _so great_, but he's a complete jerk! If only they knew the real him, not the pompous, smooth talking, big word using-I mean, what the heck does 'Quid Pro Quo' even mean? That sounds like some type of octopus!"

Danny slammed the spoon back into his bowl of cereal and stomped up to his room to get on again, grumbling murderously under his breath. It seemed he had to do this every time he had a little chat with Vlad. Lancer thinks _he_ deserves credit for Danny's growing vocabulary, but heck no. That would be the fruitloop who likes to insult said student using big words no one in their right might can understand. And, as the younger hybrid figured, if he's gonna have his intelligence insulted the least he can do is figure out _how _his intelligence is being insulted. Namely, looking up the big words Vlad makes fun of him with.

"Quid Pro Quo...Quid Pro Quo..." Danny muttered to himself, scrolling through the useless junk until he found the actual definition on the website.

He stared at it.

"Okay, that must be the wrong definition." he scowled, punching 'online dictionary' into the search engine and pretending he didn't just read what he thought he read.

Roughly five seconds later he was scrolling through a new website and narrowing his eyes at the same definition. Danny felt his cheeks heat up as he tried to figure out just what the heck Vlad was insinuating here...

"One more try, this can't be the right meaning..."

Danny tried a whole new search engine and a website he'd never heard of-but it ended in 'org' so it had to be legit-and tried this again.

"Maybe I'm spelling it wrong?" he mumbled, typing the word in one last time and pressing the 'search' button.

"Quid Pro Quo..." Danny scowled, murmuring through the definition because he really couldn't believe this was the actual meaning of the word, "...submission to unwelcome sexual advances. ...cause of action for quid pro quo harassment involves the behavior most commonly regarded as sexual harassment, including, for example, sexual propositions, commentary on the employee's body and the sexual uses to which it could be put-What the hell, Vlad!"

Danny stopped looking up definitions after that.

* * *

Heh heh heh, ah poor Danny. Okay, so seriously the definition is this: Latin for 'what for what' or 'something for something.' The concept of getting something of value in return for giving something of value. But when I looked it up the first time (cause Vlad uses big words that I don't know either) all that came up was Quid Pro Quo sexual harassment stuff. Of course, the first thing I did was get all excited thinking, "WHOA! Butch Hartman is secretly a Pompous Pep Fan! HUZZAH!" Yeeeeeah, not so much. I just can't work the internet properly. LAWL.


	18. 90 Overwhelmed

"Oh you have _got _to be kidding me."

Danny immediately threw the heart-shaped box and bouquet of roses into Vlad's face, causing the man to splutter when flowers burst apart over his head.

"Ack-Daniel! Daniel, wait!"

The fuming twenty year old didn't respond, stomping off down the paved driveway with haunched shoulders and clenched fists. The older male haphazardly brushed away the lingering stems and petals, rushing after his younger adversary with relative urgency. After all, it wasn't exactly in Daniel's nature to give Vlad anything, especially not a Valentine's Day gift.

"Daniel, stop! Where are you-What was-will you wait a damn second, you insufferable child!"

Instantly the raven haired male whipped his head around, glaring so furiously that it might actually have sent a chill down the billionaire's spine were it not for the raging blush covering his cheeks. Vlad stopped roughly three feet from the incensed male, giving him a wary and confused look.

"What?" Danny snapped icily.

Vlad raised an eyebrow, holding up a crushed rose bud hanging limply on a mutilated stem.

"Care to explain?"

"No. Bye."

"Daniel!" This time Vlad reached out and grabbed the boy's arm, his exasperation showing clearly through his expression.

"Get off me, Vlad! There's nothing to explain!"

"I beg to differ." The billionaire glared, roughly yanking the younger male closer. "Honestly, Daniel, what on _earth _would posses you to give me a Valentine's Day gift?"

"I dunno!" He struggled against the iron grip on his arm, though it was a half-hearted attempt. "Maybe I thought it'd be nice to get you something! It's no big deal, Plasmius!"

"It is a big deal seeing as you so adamantly declare me to be your arch-enemy. You do know what Valentine's Day is about, don't you?" He scathed, almost sneering at the squirming male.

"Yes." He glared stubbornly, "But you clearly don't want the stupid gift anyways, so I'll just be leaving-"

"I don't think so."

Vlad turned around a promptly dragged Daniel into his house, ignoring his kicking and screaming. He scooped up the mangled flowers and torn heart box as well, slamming the front door behind them once they'd crossed the threshold into the monstrous mansion. Daniel struggled and cursed all the way to their destination, looking ready to start taking heads when Vlad forced him into a small sitting room and pushed him into a couch.

"Now," he began in a definite tone, dropping the ruined gift on the coffee table, "Explain."

Danny responded with a quick ectoblast, throwing Vlad across the room. Two flashes of light lit up the room a split second later and immediately the temperature turned about ten degrees cooler. Plasmius jumped into the air and grabbed Danny's ankle just as he was about to phase out of the mansion, throwing him over his shoulder and slamming him into the fireplace.

The ensuing fight was more comically pathetic than anything else. Vlad and Danny scuffled around the room, over turning a few potted plants and knocking some pictures off the wall. It wasn't long before Plasmius caught Danny in a choke hold and released a wave of electricity that sent the younger male into convulsions.

Danny dropped to the ground about a minute later, smoking, aching, panting, and very human. Plamius lowered to the ground in front of him, staring down at the irate boy with an apathetic expression.

"I hate you." Danny gasped, wincing as he tried to stand.

Vlad rolled his eyes, gently placing his hands under the boy's arms to help him stand up. Danny pouted as he was forcefully assisted back to the couch, falling weakly into the soft cushions and back to square one. A tense moment of silence itched at the impatient billionaire, who stood in front of him with arms crossed, frowning and ready for answers.

"Explain."

Ice blue eyes narrowed.

"I don't really think I should, at this point."

"_Now_, Daniel."

Danny glanced up at Plasmius, meeting his pupil-less red glare for a moment before turning away. The older hybrid waited, getting ready to throttle the boy at his silence and just barely restraining himself. When it became clear that Danny wasn't going to say anything, Vlad decided to take matters into his own hands and investigate the paradoxical gift himself.

Danny watched with hawklike eyes as he peeled apart what remained of the flowers, clearly inspecting them for some kind of poison or weapon. The younger male's determined glare slowly fell at the sight of his gift falling to the floor in slivers though, trying to ignore the feeling of dejection creeping through his heart. He should have known trying to be nice to Vlad Masters would end up like this. He had just set himself up for unnecessary embarrassment...

Vlad raised an eye brow when it became clear that the roses were indeed just roses, albeit crushed beyond repair at this point. Without noticing the downhearted expression on his guest's face, he picked up the torn red box, inspecting it with keen, distrusting eyes. Danny watched with growing bitterness as Vlad wrecked this gift too, gingerly lifting an edge of the box to reveal not candies or explosives, but instead two Packers tickets and a sealed letter...

"Daniel..." Vlad said slowly, it suddenly dawning on him that this wasn't a trick, that this might actually be the first real Valentine's gift he'd received in nearly twenty years. And that he'd just ruined it.

"What?" he snapped coldly.

"...Is this some kind of joke?"

A flare of fury spiked in Danny's eyes, and that was the finally straw.

"That's it. I'm leaving."

"No, Daniel, wait!"

It might have been funny how Vlad's tone had gone from angry suspicion in the beginning to a sudden desperation now, but it didn't really occur to the younger hybrid to smile. In fact, he was giving his general surroundings a rather frightening black glare as he stomped to the door of the sitting room, aching body be damned. Vlad ran after him, quickly standing in his way with an uncharacteristically perplexed expression.

"Daniel, please." he said gently, holding up a hand of surrender. "I...I'm sorry."

This made Danny stop. He stared at Vlad with a raised eyebrow, the glare faltering slightly. For a tense and increasingly awkward moment, the two stared at each other, waiting for something to happen. Vlad eventually cleared his throat, looking down at the gift still in his hands.

"So...is there any particular reason you decided to get me a Valentine's Day gift?"

A blush quickly flamed over Danny's face again. He stared off to the side with an uncomfortable expression, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"I dunno." he mumbled, shrugging and still not looking at Vlad. "Guess I just thought you deserved something..."

This response didn't fix Vlad's bewilderment, but he accepted the answer for the sake of ending the horribly awkward uncertainty between them. He nodded silently, clearing his throat again and picking up the football tickets. Vlad stared at them for another long moment, turning them around in his hands as though not believing they were real.

"Two tickets." He began again. Danny shrugged, his blush darkening.

"... Are you saying you'd like to come with me, or..."

"Uh, well, n-no, not if you don't want me to. I mean, if you want me to then, then, you know, y-yeah sure, that'd be great, but the tickets are yours, so...so yeah."

Vlad couldn't help but smirk at the articulate response, some of the thick tension loosening. Danny just looked more humiliated, coughing needlessly and staring at everything but Vlad.

"Hm." The billionaire hummed, glancing down at the tickets again and wondering how best to handle this situation. A sense of control was finally starting to kick in though, Danny's own flustered body language making it easier to exploit the circumstances. Clearly the boy's feeling for him were much more complicated than the cliché hero-villian stereotype, and perhaps he could use this to his advantage. ...And besides...it would be nice to have Daniel's company in an amicable setting for once.

"Well little badger, I hope you don't have anything planned next sunday because you're coming with me whether you want to or not. I seriously doubt your oaf of a father has ever given you the opportunity to experience something so essential in life as a Packers game."

Danny stared at him, struggling between the urge to yell at the pass about his Dad and figuring out how to respond to the fact that Vlad wants his company.

"Um...You're welcome?"

"A satisfactory response Daniel, but I'm not sure if I'm thanking you just yet. After all there's still the matter of this love letter..."

"It's not a love letter!" Danny yelled, his entire face burning with a blush. Vlad's smirk widened shamelessly, laughing at the flustered male.

"Of course it isn't, little badger," he replied as he lifted the letter from the box, "Now if you could just-"

"No wait! Don't read it _now_!"

Vlad glanced up at Danny, who looked utterly scandalized.

"...And why not?" he asked slowly.

"Because-" Danny's eyes were shifting back and forth, clearly looking for the nearest means of escape. "Because I'm still here, and, you know it's...weird and stuff, so...Just wait until I leave, okay? Jeez!"

The agitated twenty year old tried to stomp away, but Vlad sidestepped his walk and refused to let him leave. Danny swallowed, really not liking the mischievous smirk curling the older man's lip...

"But what if I have questions, little badger? I really think you should stay here so we can clear up any misunderstanding that might evolve from this uncharacteristic gift."

"And I think you're bullshitting so you can watch me blush and stumble for your malicious amusement. Get out of my way, Plasmius." Danny glared, still blushing.

"Oh please Daniel, I can get amusement from you on a daily basis. You're not that hard to make fun of."

"Okay, now I'm _really _leaving-"

"_Dear Vlad. I know this letter is probably the last thing you'd expect_-"

"AH! Vlad, stop!"

"-_Believe me, I'm not even sure why I'm writing it myself._-"

"Vlad! _Seriously! _Get out of my way!"

It quickly became clear that the older man wasn't going to move. Danny tried to roughly pushed him out of the way, but the older man spun around and grabbed his hand before he could successfully flee. He dragged him back to the couch, reading the letter out loud all the way there as he pushed Danny back into the cushions. The younger hybrid struggled, trying as hard as he could to yank himself away from the marble arm wrapped around his shoulders, keeping him stuck to the couch.

"_Sam told me Valentine's day isn't about showering your significant other with pointless gifts, but about showing the people you admire how much you care-_"

"Vlad come on! This isn't funny!"

"_So, I guess what I'm trying to say is..._"

Vlad trailed off, falling silent as his eyes took in the words of the letter. Danny's face burned when he heard the older male go silent, struggling weakly against the grip keeping him pinned, rather awkwardly, against the other man's body. It seemed like an eternity for Vlad to finish reading, which was odd because the letter wasn't very long to begin with. Danny was forced to fluster in the noiseless air, shrinking in on himself when he felt Vlad turn his head to look at him.

"...Do you really mean this, Danny?"

The raven haired male blinked, surprised at the correct use of his name. His shock was enough to make him look up at the billionaire himself, and the nervous, yet startling honesty in his wide, ice blue eyes was enough to tell Vlad the truth. Still though, when Vlad only continued to stare at him in awe, Danny timidly nodded his head.

He jumped out of habit when Vlad's arms were suddenly wrapped around his shoulders, and not in a restraining type of hold either. Danny froze, not quite sure how to respond to such an intimate hug from Plas...from Vlad. Tentatively, he returned the gesture, waiting for some kind of sneak attack or something. However, when Vlad simply held him tighter, Danny relaxed into the embrace, hiding his tender smile.

Looks like Vlad has a heart after all.

* * *

_Dear Vlad,_

_I know this letter is probably the last thing you'd ever expect from me. Believe me, I'm not even sure why I'm writing it myself. I guess it's because we've been fighting non stop since we meet, and there are a few things I wanna get off my chest before we eventually kill each other. _

_Sam told me Valentine's day wasn't about showering your significant other with pointless gifts, but about showing the people you admire how much you care. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I admire you. I don't want you to spend the rest of your life thinking I hate you, cause really, it's the total opposite. Contrary to popular belief, you're very important to me, and I'm not sure what I'd do without you. Probably flounder around and screw up these stupid ghost powers even more, in all honesty. _

_So yeah. Just wanted to let you know that you're not as alone as you think._

_-Danny _


	19. 88 Lies

I apologize for posting this. :D Only not really.

* * *

A clock ticked from somewhere within the mostly empty house. There were no shouts about ghosts or sibling squabbles to be heard in the uninhabited halls, just a calm, dead silence. The only two remaining residents of the Fenton household were situated in the kitchen, at the table, in two equally cold, wooden chairs. The younger tapped his finger against the cheaply made surface, throwing an occasional anxious glance towards his mother on the opposite side of him. He was confused as to why he was there, but all attempts to get an answer from Maddie were met with more silence. She simply told him to sit down, and that there was something important she finally had to tell him.

At eighteen and on the brink of college, Danny was really hoping she was about to reveal some secret bank account full of thousands of dollars with his name on it. Of course, the likelihood of this was slim to none, and judging by the almost agonized look on his mother's face, whatever she had to say was not going to be good. Still, Danny took a deep breath and patiently waited for her to reveal some big secret to him. After all, compared to his own secret life, it couldn't be _that _bad, right?

"Danny..." she began, but something caught in her throat. Maddie shook her head, giving up on the failed start and trying again.

"Sweetie, you...remember Vlad, right?"

Immediately Danny's calm expression dropped. Irritation to the highest degree stole across his features, settling in with an almighty eye roll. _Oh._ This was gonna be a conversation about _him_. Maybe it could be that bad after all.

"Kinda hard to forget that fruitloop, Mom. He makes it a habit to stop by the house on a weekly basis." He responded dryly, not missing his mother's subtle grimace or the way she started wringing her hands together. Danny furrowed his brows.

"Mom, are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, sweetheart. Really, I am. I just...well I have something that I need to tell you."

"Yeah," Danny replied slowly. "I'd gathered that much..."

"It's...you're eighteen now, so you have the right to know. I...I wish it wasn't true and I _wish_ I could change the past but...well not even your father knows and-and-"

"Mom!" Danny stood up, starting to get a little worried. He knew how strong his mother was, but she hadn't even said anything yet and tears were already welling up.

Maddie sniffed quietly, turning to face her son as he knelt by her chair, staring down into his blue eyes that were so familiar yet so wrong... Her chest constricted with shame again, but she knew she couldn't keep it from him forever. Not something this big.

"Look why don't you just...start at the beginning or something." Danny suggested weakly, looking incredibly uncomfortable at the potential of tears from his mother.

Maddie sniffed, nodding slowly and standing for a glass of cool water. Danny lifted himself from his knees, watching her with concern splayed across his face. She was still tense, moving around like an old wind up toy. Danny lead her into the living room and made her sit in the most comfortable spot on the couch, having a bad feeling in his stomach but trying to ignore it.

"I guess...the beginning..." she began, so quietly that Danny had to lean in from his spot next to her. Maddie lost herself in old memories for a moment, trailing a finger around the rim of her glass absentmindedly. "...It started about eighteen years ago, at a party, of all things..."

"What kind of party?" Danny asked, mostly to keep her talking. "One of Vlad's parties?"

She nodded, pressing her lips together.

"It was awhile after he'd gotten out of the hospital. Jazz...had already been born. Jack and I were both invited, but Jack's mother was in the hospital at the time and someone had to watch Jazz. Jack insisted that I at least go, since Vlad was our friend and we hadn't seen him since the accident..."

Danny didn't interrupt, listening intently as she pieced the story together.

"I was a little hesitant at first, but I honestly did miss Vlad's company. He wasn't always such a fruitloop, you know." Danny couldn't help interrupting with a snort here, which Maddie seemed more troubled by, oddly enough. "Vlad really was a close friend to both of us, and admittedly, I was dying to get out of the house and away from being a mother, just for one night."

"Okay, so you went to one of Vlad's parties cause you were tired of Jazz. That's perfectly understandable, Mom."

Maddie shot her son a wane smile, shaking her head at his cheeky grin. The smile faded quickly though, falling into a pained frowned as she continued with the story.

"I...I drank a lot while I was there. I know it was irresponsible, but I just wanted one night to cut loose and pretend I was in college again or something. I don't know. Vlad didn't seem bitter about the accident, either. He was very kind the whole evening. In fact, he even seemed happy, which isn't so much the case anymore... Then again, it _was _a party to celebrate his first million. He drank a lot too."

The bad feeling in Danny's stomach started getting worse. His mother never rambled like this, especially not about Vlad.

"I don't remember much, but at some point Vlad and I were spending most of the evening together, laughing at all the stuffed up suits around us. As the night wore on we only drank more, even as the party started to die down. People started going home, and next thing I know I'm alone with Vlad in his brand new mansion."

Maddie fell quiet, gripping the cup so tightly her hand was trembling. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. Danny felt rooted to the spot next to her, growing disbelief mixing with the bad feeling in his stomach. After all, it was generally understood that two drunk people alone together was a great set up for something really regretful to happen.

"I love Jack, Danny, you have to believe me." Maddie finally forced out, her voice cracking. "I love him with all my heart."

"I know you do, Mom." the halfa replied, mouth dry.

"A-And I don't know _why _I let things go so far with...I was just so drunk and he...well...well, Vlad isn't exactly the most unattractive man in the world."

"Mom." Danny stopped her, horror beginning to constrict his throat, "Are you-do you mean-..._did you sleep with Vlad_?"

At this point Maddie burst into tears, which was answer enough. Danny's jaw fell to the floor, a fair amount of revulsion churning through his veins. His mind felt utterly blank though, his body numb. After those years of fighting Vlad...after so adamantly defending his mother's complete lack of interest...is mother's utter _devotion _to her husband...

"I can't believe you slept with him." Danny muttered, staring blankly at the wall with wide eyes.

Maddie continued to cry, shoulders shaking. Danny looked down at her haunched figure, awkwardly putting what was supposed to be a comforting hand on her shoulder. His heart wasn't in it, though. Betrayal oozed its way into the mixture of disbelief and shock already roiling in his chest, leaving the poor teen confused and hurt. How...how _could_ she? After all the years he spent fighting that fruitloop _for her_, how could she have done something to _intimate _with Vlad all along? And Dad still didn't know, all these years later? Even if her actions were a product of too much alcohol, his mother had...had _cheated _on his father. ..._with Vlad._

"Why are you even telling me this?" Danny asked, frowning angrily. If his Dad could live in blissful ignorance, why couldn't he? This was the _last _thing he wanted to hear about, bar none.

"B-Because," she sobbed, wiping her eyes pointlessly as more tears continued to flow. "T-That's not the worst of it."

"Mom, how could _anything _top you betraying Dad like that? God, all of Vlad's creepy desperation makes so much more sense now!" Danny shook his head angrily, feeling like an idiot. The most baffling aspect of the situation, however, was why didn't _Vlad _ever tell him about this?

"I'm so sorry, sweetie. I'm so so sorry." Maddie grabbed a tissue, crying into it and rocking back and forth on the couch. Her shaking seemed to get more violent now, and she couldn't look at her son anymore. Danny's anger melted into concern, rubbing his mother's back as she continued to shake.

"Mom..." he muttered, "Just...just calm down, okay? It's alright, it...it was a long time ago. It'll be okay. ...Mom?"

But Maddie was shaking her head, scooting away from Danny's attempted comforting touch and finally looking into his eyes with a tortured stare.

"Oh Danny..." she croaked, "After that happened...I...I started feeling sick-"

"Well yeah, I don't blame you, I mean come on, it's _Vla_-"

"No Danny." She shook her head, standing up and twisting her fingers together. "I'm talking about m-morning sickness. I...I was pregnant."

"You...were pregnant?" Danny's face screwed up in confusion, not understanding.

Maddie choked on a sob and nodded miserably, whipping away fresh tear streaks.

"Sweetie, I know you don't like Vlad very much, so I know this must be s-so hard." she broke into fresh sobs, but the teen on the couch still couldn't comprehend what she was trying to imply. There was simply no way.

"You...you got pregnant. After sleeping with Vlad." Danny slowly clarified, his expression disturbingly vacant.

"Y-yes." Maddie looked like she was waiting for the world to explode, but Danny just stared at her. After all, she _couldn't _be saying what he thought she was saying.

"Well did...did the baby die or something?" He spluttered awkwardly, "I don't-I don't understand-"

"Danny..." Maddie shook her head exasperatedly, pain shining through every inch of her face. "The baby I became pregnant with was _you_."

Every single fraction of a cell froze within Danny's body, all the pathetic denial shattering under her words. Logic ceased to exist. He was staring at his mother, and she was saying something and crying, but all he could hear was emptiness. She couldn't-He wasn't-There had to be a mistake.

"No." he said slowly, as though Maddie were the confused one. "My dad is Jack, your _husband_."

"D-Danny please don't make this h-harder than it is!" Maddie was full out weeping at this point, fighting the endless stream dripping from her eyes. Danny couldn't do anything but stare at her, the implications she was making slow sinking through his stout refusal like a rock through thick sand. A dull roar seemed to build up in the back of his mind as he started comprehending the _mistake _she _had to be making_.

"Vlad _cannot _be my...he-he _isn't_-" the words choked in his throat though, leaving him to stubbornly shake his head while his mouth gapped.

"I'm s-so so sorry Danny." Maddie's tortured expression leaked more tears. "I know this m-must be hard for you."

"You think?" Anger flared up inexplicably, driving Danny from the couch and into a tense pace, "You're trying to tell me that _Vlad _is my _father_! That fruitloop _can't _be my father!"

"Honey, I don't want it to be true anymore than you do, but there's no denying it. I even got a DNA test done during the pregnancy, and it said Jack wasn't the biological father which could only mean-"

"DON'T!" Danny screamed, slamming his hands over his ears. "Don't say it! You don't-this can't-this can't be true!"

Maddie could only watch as her son's world fell apart, witnessing his violent denial lash out at the lamp that shattered when it hit the floor. Danny was pacing like a wild animal, gripping his hair and looking around desperately as thought someone was going to pop out and yell, "April fools". Nobody did though, and the realization that this wasn't some horrid nightmare slowly seeped in.

Danny stopped in the middle of the floor, still gripping his head and shaking slightly. His eyes were wide with desperate refusal at this point, his expression giving away the pain that came with the understanding that Maddie was telling the truth.

"D-Does-" Danny's words caught in his throat. He had to take a moment, trying again and coming out in a whisper. "Does Vlad know?"

"I never told him." Maddie responded, still twisting her fingers together.

"He will _never _know the truth." Danny stated, suddenly meeting her eyes and holding such an intense stare that her breath felt stuck. "I'm eighteen now. No one ever has to know the truth, _especially _Vlad. If-If he knew that...that I'm his..."

His fists and teeth clenched, still unable to say it. Without another word Danny walked over to the front door and threw it open. The slam he left behind lingered in the empty house, giving way to a mother's renewed sobs.


	20. 4 Pain

Hey guys. Sorry for the short update. This is more of a vent/warning-you-guys-that-I-might-be-a-little-absent-for-a-while piece. Shit hit the metaphorical fan again, only this time it's completely my fault and totally justified. Read below if you wanna know the juicy drama of my life. lol

So I got caught with 17 grams of shrooms. Popparoni isn't very happy with me, and I suspect neither is mom. I may be a month shy of 19, but I'm still under their roof (for now. I imagine I'll be homeless within the next three or so hours. lol). Anyway, so they took my car since it's registered under their name and I'm sure they'll be taking whatever else they can get their grubby hands on. Luckily, my computer is something I bought with my own money, so I'll be fighting them tooth and nail if they try to take my Mac. Ugh. This is such a pain. Of ALL the things for my dad to finally catch, it HAD to be the $170 worth of shrooms. Mother fu-

ANYWHO, all of this results in two options for the whole fanfiction thing: A) I become homeless and will probably be too busy picking through garbage cans to update much, or B) I'll be under house arrest which means I'll have ample time to update. lol

Really though, I don't blame my parents or anything. I love them, they love me. I'm the one who brought drugs into the house so it's my responsibility. I'm just so bummed that I didn't get to trip! D:

* * *

I don't like disappointing my parents, really, I don't. People probably don't believe that, since I lie to them so much, but those lies are something I can't get around. If my parents knew that half of who I am is what they hate, they'd never look at me the same way again. It doesn't matter that I try my damnedest to help people, that I always strive to live a 'righteous' life. I'm part ghost, which means part of me will always be something foreign to them.

Sam and Tucker-hell, even _Vlad_-always tried to tell me that I was wrong about my parents. They said no matter what, my mom and dad will always love me. I guess our definitions of love are different though. Maybe my lifestyle isn't the safest for me, but it's one that I've chosen. My parents clearly can't respect my decision, but that's not surprising seeing as they can't even respect me as a person.

I guess this is all my fault though. I'm the one who lied, went behind their backs, pretended there was nothing wrong... The truth was bound to get out sometime. It was inevitable. After all, they _are _ghost hunters and I _am _a ghost. Sure, they may be my parents too, but that doesn't mean they can just set aside their entire life philosophy to look past the _one thing _they hate. I'd be asking too much if I requested that, right?

I dunno. Either way it doesn't matter at this point. My parents are ghost hunters and I'm part ghost. It's only natural for them to dissect me upon my capture.

I just wish it didn't hurt so much.

* * *

The most ironic part is that my Dad is a cop. :D lololololol


	21. 94 Search

Guess who's under house arreeeest! :D

This is a continuation of Jealousy. Number 22, I think...eh, whatever. You might wanna read the end of 22 so you're not confused by the beginning of this one. It starts, like, directly after Jealousy ends.

* * *

A clock ticked in the back ground.

Vlad was staring at me and I'm pretty sure I had a classic deer-in-the-headlights look on my face. There was a ridiculously thick silence in the air, the kind that comes after stumbling upon an impossible and awkward thought. Like, an _insanely huge _impossible and awkward thought. So why wasn't it leaving? Why did I have butterflies churning my stomach? And why did I get the impression that Vlad was secretly laughing at me?

"Uh..."

He just stared at me, quirking an eyebrow. I had a feeling those navy blue eyes were drilling a hole into my brain and reading those impossible thoughts I had fluttering in my head. Thoughts that _wouldn't go away_.

"Um..."

"Daniel, are you going to stare at me all day or are you going to finish your sentence?"

Oh yeah. He was totally laughing at me.

"Oh...I just...I wasn't...uh..." Great, now I was making a complete idiot of myself. I coughed roughly, violently beating down those incriminating ideas and quickly turning away from Vlad's piercing stare. A fiery red blush was flaming across my face, though, further embarrassing me as I stared at the ceiling and pretended there was nothing wrong.

"So yeah. There's no one who can understand." I squeaked, wanting to slap myself. Smooth, Fenton.

"Uh huh." He replied slowly, not believing me for a second, "Are you sure, little badger? I was under the impression that you _did _in fact think of someone, but you just aren't telling me."

"Nope! Couldn't think of anyone!" Was he playing with me?

To my sudden horror I heard him stand up and walk toward me. Vlad's amused face took over my vision as he stared down at me, seeming to dangle a secret over my head. I felt my throat go dry, still having trouble pushing those awkward thoughts away and trying not to die in mortification when the realization of how attractive he is inexplicably hit me.

"You're lying." He smirked, making me swallow thickly. That blush increased.

"No I'm not." I replied stubbornly.

When the horrifying vision of Vlad swooping down and kissing me blazed across my overactive imagination, I knew it was time to leave. Like, now.

"Well I'm gonna go find Sam cause she's probably really worried and stuff so I need to talk to her." My grin was way too wide, words tumbling out in a jumbled mess. I scooted away from Vlad, twisting and slinking away from the couch he was standing so close too.

The smirk never left Vlad's face, even as I stood straight and practically fled the mansion.

"What is _wrong _with me!" I yelled into the wind, flying who knows how high over Amity Park.

His face snaked into my internal vision and I flew faster, hoping to out run it.

"He's off limits." I hissed, not even able to believe I was kinda-sorta-but not really thinking about those impossible ideas. "That's just crazy, he...we have a past, it'd never...he's as old as my parents!"

_Good thing he doesn't look it._

"Aah! No, I am not thinking about this!" I yelled, slamming my hands over my ears in an attempt to strangle those traitorous thoughts.

"I have to talk to Sam." I growled to myself, hands clenching into fists and flying toward her house. "My _girlfriend_. I can't let myself get distracted by...that."

With my resolve solidified, I dropped at an eighty degree angle and descended to her purple curtain covered window. She had to be home by now, right? I probably knocked a little too hard on her window, but I was kinda desperate to get into the impending fight. Fighting meant not thinking about Vlad.

Naturally, she wasn't home. I spent the next half hour frantically searching Amity Park for her and getting nothing. She wasn't at the park, the Skulk and Lurk remains, Tucker's house, my house, the cemetery, anywhere! When I started getting desperate I knew I'd need help, so I flew to Tucker's again and landed in his bedroom.

"Tucker, where's Sam."

Not exactly feeling the urgency that I was, Tucker slowly spun around in his chair and let loose a low, languid whistle.

"She is not happy with you, dude." he grinned. My eye twitched.

"Yes. I realize that. Now do you know where I can find her?"

"Uuh, I wouldn't go looking for her just yet," he said cautiously, "If you do she'll likely tear your face off."

"Why!" I suddenly exploded, everything coming to a climatic high because I still didn't understand Sam and visions of Vlad kept floating in my minds vision.

"I mean, I know she's pissed but it's not _my _fault the ghosts attacked!"

Even though technically it is.

"And it's not like I could of just let them fly around! The date would have been ruin anyways so might as well kick their butts since I'm there, right?"

Tucker sat in silence, letting me vent cause he's a good friend.

"Really, if you wanna get down to it, this is all _Vlad's _fault!" I stood up and started pacing, voice rising. "He's the fruitloop who set those vultures on me! It's not like I asked him to sabotage my date with Sam! Would it kill him to just leave me alone?"

"Danny," Tucker snorted. "You've been chasing his tail for god knows how long. Don't pretend you're not in love with him.

I tripped over my own feet and looked up at Tucker in mortification.

"_What did you say?_" I breathed, a scandalized expression on my face. My tech savvy friend looked at me funny.

"What? All I said was, 'Danny, he's been giving you hell for god knows how long. Don't pretend you're not used to him.' Jeez, freak out a little. Besides, why are you blaming everything on Vlad? I thought this was about Sam."

"I wasn't-It is about Sam! It's just Vlad's fault!"

"What's Vlad's fault again?" Tucker scratched his head. I gave up.

"Ugh, nothing! Never mind! I'm gonna go find Sam."

So, after treating my best friend like crap because I couldn't deal with my own emotions, I proceeded to fly off into Amity Park again. The inching weight of guilt was now settled in the back of my head, further adding to the things I had to stress over. In light of all my pressing concerns, it probably wasn't the best idea to continue seeking out Sam. But like I mentioned before, I was having trouble facing my own emotions. Particular the emotions that centered around one suave, silver-ponytailed, villainous billionaire.

"He's forty something years old and likes my _mom_, not me." I muttered angrily, fists clenching because for some reason none of this was really sinking in. All I could think about were the numerous evenings he welcomed me into his home, the warm smiles he seemed to share only with me, the way he _looked _at me as I stumbled upon the most bizarre truth of my life.

The perfect companion for a hybrid such as myself would naturally be another hybrid.

"But of course," I hissed through gritted teeth. "The only other hybrid happens to be twenty years my senior, male, and clinically insane!"

But did all those things really bother me? Honestly, the most terrifying aspect of this discovery was that I wasn't terrified by it. I was even considering it.

"Sam!" I cried out in relief, rounding a corner and happening to see her walking down a random street.

She glared up at me, turning back to the sidewalk in front of her and continuing to stomp away. Me, being the oblivious moron that I am, probably should have remembered Tucker's advice and turned around. However, I was still having my own internal conniption fit, and didn't stop to consider that maybe talking to Sam was a bad idea when all I could think about was Vlad.

"Sam!" I repeated, dropping behind an alley and catching up to her. Sam finally stopped walking when I jumped in front of her, stomping her foot on the ground.

"_What_, Danny?" She asked icily, crossing her arms.

It suddenly hit me that I had no idea what I was supposed to say to her.

"Uh..."

Sam rolled her eyes and scoffed, pushing past me like I was one of the swinging doors in an old western movie.

"Wait! No, Sam, I...I'm sorry." That seemed like a good place to start.

She spun around, further enraged by my words.

Then again, maybe not.

"Sorry?" she hissed, amethyst eyes sparking with ire as she advanced. For a girl who barely reached my chin, she was kinda intimidating...

"You abandoned me for ghost hunting, Danny. _Again_! How many time are you going to say sorry?"

"How the hell did I abandon you? Those ghosts were attacking the Skulk and Lurk itself, it's not like I could have just ignored them." I frowned, starting to feel rather angry myself.

"Ugh, jesus Danny it's not about this one time!" She threw her hands in the air. "You _always _bail on me for some ghost! I just can't take it anymore!"

"What the hell, Sam! It's not my fault I'm half ghost and have responsibilities to take care of! My ghost fighting has never been a problem before so why is it a problem now?"

"Because I'm supposed to be your _girlfriend_, Danny! That mean's you owe a certain amount of responsibility to me too! Why can't you let your parents handle some of the ghost fighting, or Valarie? They're all competent hunters too, you know."

"They don't need to put themselves at risk needlessly. How can you ask me to let them do that?"

"How can _you _treat me like I'm some arm candy you can just use when it's convenient for you!"

My jaw went slack, feeling like I'd been smacked in the face. After all the effort I put into this stupid relationship, after all the years we've been friends...

"You honestly think you're nothing more to me than convenient _arm candy_?" I asked quietly, legitimately offended. What kind of person does she think I am?

"Well, I didn't at first, but all the evidence suggests!" Sam hesitated for a moment, obviously not missing the hurt expression I was trying to hide.

I glared at her, pressing my mouth into a thin line. I couldn't explode on her, it wasn't her fault, she just didn't understand, it wasn't her fault. Sure, maybe she's been there since day one, and yeah, I may have put every ounce of my being into making sure she was happy, but hey, if all the evidence suggests...

"This is such bullshit, Sam." I seethed, fists clenching. "I tried my _damnedest_ to make this relationship work. Do you have any idea how _hard _it was for me? You _know _all about my ghost fighting life, you _know _how hard it is to balance everything! If you couldn't handle it then why the hell did you even start this relationship in the first place?"

My voice was rising, the screaming match starting all over again. Sam seemed on the verge of tears now, her deep, purple eyes glistening and fits clenched tight.

"Because I thought you cared about me more than ghost fighting!" she yelled.

"It's not even about that, Sam! How am I supposed to ignore a scream for help when I hear it? I can't let someone die just because you want to hold hands in the park!"

"Don't you dare twist this around and make it about me, Daniel Fenton!" She raged. "You know just as well as I do that there are other ghost fighters in this town, _capable _fighters who don't need you babying them needlessly! Hell, I've heard you're even buddy-buddy with _Vlad _now! If you honestly cared about me as much as you say you do, you could of asked _him _to do something about the ghost count!"

"Yeah right." I scoffed. "That fruitloop wouldn't have helped me salvage this relationship if his life depended on it.

Sam gave me a funny look, but then shook her head, the fury returning.

"Look, Danny, maybe we shouldn't have tried the relationship to begin with. Clearly you have some issues to work out and I don't have the capacity to deal with them anymore."

"I have _issues to work out_?" I gapped, attention snapping back to the present fight. "What the hell Sam? Don't talk to me like I have some problem! Caring about people is not an 'issue'!"

"Danny, you take it to a whole new level." She glared sternly. "You can't even live your own life because once that ghost sense goes off, you _have _to go fight the bad guy. I just can't deal with your obsession anymore. I have a life to live, and it's a lot bigger than Amity Park."

"Well I'm sorry for holding you back." I spat, throughly pissed off at this point. She has _no fucking clue. _"I guess you're right, we shouldn't have started this relationship to begin with..."

Sam just stared at me sadly, no, _pityingly_. It was like she thought I was past saving or something. I didn't know how to respond, shocked that she considered my desire to help people an obsession and speechless because it was probably true. But was that a bad thing? I mean, my obsession could be world domination, so I still don't see how it's an _issue_. She just didn't understand.

"Vlad was right..." I murmured, thinking out loud. "...we were doomed from the beginning..."

Sam didn't reply, though there was a funny look on her face again. In the end she just shook her head for a final time, moving her hand as though to place it on my shoulder, but then thinking twice and letting the limb fall limp. I knew this was good-bye without even hearing it, but honestly, I couldn't even care anymore.

"Bye Danny." Sam said sadly. "I'm sorry this couldn't work out."

There were a lot of things I wanted to say in response to that, but I held my tongue, instead asking the only question that I genuinely concerned about.

"...Can we still be friends after this?"

Sam was honest, and that's something I've always admired about her. She wasn't a girl who liked to sugar coat things, so I didn't have to deal with a BS answer from her. It was just the truth.

"Maybe. But it'll take some time. I think we should give each other some space for a while."

"...yeah."

Sam stared at me for a moment longer, like she was looking for something in my expression. My stony glare revealed nothing but exhaustion and bitterness though, still rather irked about her 'issue' comment. Maybe it really was best that we go our separate ways for a while. I really didn't want to end it on too terrible a note though, no matter how angry we were at each other.

"I hope you get what you're looking for outside of Amity Park, Sam. Really, I do."

Without another word I transformed into Phantom, right there in the middle of the street. Sam, probably out of habit, glanced around to make sure the coast was clear, but after that I didn't see her anymore. I was high in the sky, flying far away from all the earthly problems that tried to keep me down and pretending they didn't exist.

The sun was shining brightly up here, bouncing off snowy white clouds creating a beautiful scenery that couldn't help but lift my spirits a bit. I wasn't particularly happy of course. Breaking up a three year relationship isn't exactly a walk in the park. Still...I had the feeling this was something good...that me and Sam...well we just were meant to be.

Besides, I suspected there was someone much better for me waiting far below.


	22. 53 Memory

Have you ever been punched in the face?

I have. On multiple occasions. It doesn't really hurt like people expect it to, at least I think. I never really contemplated the pain of punches before I got my ghost powers, and then...well then I got my ghost powers. Punches quickly became an unavoidable side effect after that, and soon they were just an everyday occurrence. Still, I remember the first time I got punched in the face. I was floating there, all cocky and confident, mentally preparing myself for the fight as it was happening. I guess I was a little scared of being punched in the face, but it wasn't something I was actively thinking about. I was more concerned with winning. Then suddenly

WHAM!

I got clocked right in the kisser, and a good portion of my nose too cause Plasmius' hand isn't exactly small. It didn't really hurt like I expected it to though, not like an ectoblast. Ectoblasts kinda sting and the burn lingers like an irritating fly. Punches are different, they're more...crude. It's skin against skin, the thin layer of flesh providing the smallest cushion as knuckle meets skull. The pain is lumbering, in a weird way. You don't really think about it until the next punch comes your way and suddenly your thinking, "Oh shit, this is gonna hurt."

Well duh it's gonna hurt. You're getting punched in the face.

* * *

So I made my brother fight me. Like, Fight Club fight me. He's a little over 6 foot and not exactly small around the arms either. Needless to say, I got my ass handed to me. :D Still, it was fucking awesome. Sure I had blood pouring out my nose and all I could taste was warm iron, but it was _awesome_.

Hmm. I'm becoming increasingly violent lately. I even bought combat boots from eBay. CAN'T IMAGINE WHY THOUGH.


	23. 31 Family

Continuation of numba 88, Lies. I reeeeeally feel like a failed with Vlad's emotions though. D: Please tell me if I did and how, cause he's my favorite and I don't wanna mess his character up. T_T

On another note, I move out of my house! Whoooooo!

* * *

It's a comforting fact that no matter how old I get, one thing will always remain constant in my life. That one thing is the Fentons.

_"Danny? Honey can I talk to you about something?_"

Maddie's sweet, melodious voice came in clear from the microphone. The bug in the living room of the Fenton household focused in on the older woman, allowing me to see the creases of anxiety in her face as though I were there in person. She didn't wait on the boy, wandering into the kitchen with the same troubled look. I frowned, switching cameras to keep up with her as she changed rooms.

I always keep Fenton Works bugged. Really, at this point, it's simply become a habit of mine. It's always good to gain valuable blackmail information on my foe and incredibly stubborn apprentice-to-be, but I keep the Fentons under close surveillance for more than just tactical reasons. I have much more facetious motives that Daniel would no doubt be furious at if he knew. Quite simply, watching the day to day lives of the Fenton family is better than any sitcom on television, bar none. It's especially humorous to watch Daniel stumble across one of my hidden cameras and then go on a fit of rage destroying every last miniscule trace of a bug he can find. He never gets them all, of course, and I easily replace the ones he's managed to destroy by the next day.

You know, in all honesty I'd even call this a pastime of mine. At least three times a week I can be found relaxing on any given couch, flipping to the channel my cameras are set to. Watching the hilarity of the Fenton family life is always a great pick-me-up after a long day, and once in a while, I come across something especially juicy.

Like the curious instance of Maddie calling Daniel down for a private chat.

The boy calmly made his way into the kitchen. I smiled without really thinking about it, petting Maddie's soft white fur. Every time I get to see my little badger without needing to steel myself for his irritating sarcasm and biting glares, I get to let my more proud sentiments loose. He really has grown so much over the past four years, fighting for his town day and night yet still finding the time to get into college. Amity Park University may not be the greatest educational institution in the world, and if the brat had just come to stay with me years ago I would have personally ensured his success at an ivy league academy, but I digress. With what my little badger has been dealt with, he's done a good job.

Maddie motioned for Daniel to sit down across from her, her movements tense and jerky. I pulled myself away from the whimsical thoughts, focusing back on the curious event unfolding before me. By now, of course, this conversation had long since transpired, but I suppose that was the best part about ending my days with these little 'shows.' If Jack happened to butt in halfway through, I could simply press fast forward and move on to the more important parts.

I watched with growing intrigue as the mother and son sat there, a boarder line awkward silence settling between them. Maddie seemed to be struggling to begin, which brought a fair amount of worry to my mind as I turned the volume up. She usually always so confident...

_"Danny..." _She tried to begin, but had to clear her throat and start from a new angle. One that most certainly solidified my interest. _"Sweetie, you...remember Vlad, right?" _

It was irritating how Daniel's light expression immediately fell into a disgruntled frown upon my mere mentioning. The boy seemed to resign himself to a decidedly unpleasant conversation, responding with an acidic,

_"Kinda hard to forget that fruitloop, Mom. He makes it a habit to stop by the house on a weekly basis."_

Well that was a ridiculous exaggeration. I most certainly do not stop by every week, at least not at Fenton Works. Now if Daniel's talking about our own private skirmishes, then I'm guilty as charged.

_"...Mom, are you okay?"_

_ "I-I'm fine, sweetheart. Really, I am. I just...well I have something that I need to tell you."_

_ "Yeah," _Daniel replied slowly, clearly confused._ "I'd gathered that much..."_

I watched them patiently, casually petting my sister's cat.

_"It's...you're eighteen now, so you have the right to know. I...I wish it wasn't true and I wish I could change the past but...well not even your father knows and-and-"_

_ "Mom!"_

Daniel quickly stood up, rushing to his mother's side as any decent son should. My brows furrowed in concern, watching the love of my life struggle to hold herself together. What on earth could all of this be about? I couldn't deny that as concerned as I was for her, I was twice as intrigued. Especially since there's only _one thing _that I could think of that Maddie would keep from Jack. But...but she wouldn't...this couldn't possibly be about...

No. No, that's absurd. Maddie and Jack have been married for over twenty years. No doubt there's plenty of things Maddie kept from the oaf, and she could be talking about any of them. Either way, I'd just have to keep patient and watch.

_"Look why don't you just...start at the beginning or something."_ Daniel suggested weakly, looking incredibly uncomfortable with his tearing mother as he tried his best to comfort her.

Maddie hiccuped and nodded, sniffing away the moisture in her eyes. She stood on shaky knees and fumbled with a glass of water, shuffling to the living room where Daniel helped her to the couch. I quickly switched cameras, getting the perfect angle of the pair as they settled down and Maddie took a deep breathe.

_"I guess...the beginning..."_ she began, again taking a moment as she fell prey to her reminiscent thoughts _"...It started about eighteen years ago, at a party, of all things..."_

Immediately, my stomach dropped, a myriad of emotions even _I _couldn't control flying through me. I knew _exactly_ what she was talking about. There was no doubt about it. But...but why on _earth_ would she be telling Daniel about that night? I hadn't even told the boy. It...it was personal...in a strange way. Daniel, in all of his childish ignorance, would only treat such information with disrespect or disgust. And I _refuse_ to have my most treasured memory of Maddie so tarnished...even if it is also my most painful.

_"What kind of party? One of Vlad's parties?"_

Maddie nodded silently, and I couldn't help but feel slightly betrayed, though the feeling was completely unjustified. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to watch this anymore. I didn't want to see Daniel's face when he found out about the intimate night we shared. He could _never _understand.

_"It was awhile after he'd gotten out of the hospital. Jazz...had already been born. Jack and I were both invited, but Jack's mother was in the hospital at the time and someone had to watch Jazz. Jack insisted that I at least go, since Vlad was our friend and we hadn't seen him since the accident..."_

The boy didn't interrupt, and neither did I. I felt frozen as flashes of that night came back to me, haunting me, showing me what I'd never have...

_"I was a little hesitant at first, but I honestly did miss Vlad's company. He wasn't always such a fruitloop, you know. Vlad really was a close friend to both of us, and admittedly, I was dying to get out of the house and away from being a mother, just for one night." _

I scoffed indignantly. So that was the excuse she used then? How she justified the way she threw herself at me and then expected me to pretend it never happened? Typical.

_"Okay, so you went to one of Vlad's parties cause you were tired of Jazz. That's perfectly understandable, Mom." _

And there goes Daniel, always with the cheeky quips. I couldn't be bothered by them this time, though, still stuck on the mounting bitterness that would no doubt morph into resentful fury. It's what always happens when I think about that night.

_"I...I drank a lot while I was there. I know it was irresponsible, but I just wanted one night to cut loose and pretend I was in college again or something. I don't know. Vlad didn't seem bitter about the accident, either. He was very kind the whole evening. In fact, he even seemed happy, which isn't so much the case anymore... Then again, it was a party to celebrate his first million. He drank a lot too."_

Yes, she said much of the same thing that morning we woke up. I'll never forget Maddie's shameful expression as she yanked her clothes back on, raving hysterically how it never should have happened and how it was just because of the alcohol. She made me swear not to tell a soul, saying that if I truly loved her, I would pretend it never happened.

So I did.

_"I don't remember much, but at some point Vlad and I were spending most of the evening together, laughing at all the stuffed up suits around us. As the night wore on we only drank more, even as the party started to die down. People started going home, and next thing I know I'm alone with Vlad in his brand new mansion."_

Maddie fell quiet and I could see Daniel already making the connections. A sudden flash of fury burned through me as I realized she wasn't _really _going to tell the boy the whole story. Maddie was always quick to forget that amidst our drunken conversations, she was the one who sneakily flirted my true feelings about her out into the open. She knew all about my love for her _before _she jumped into bed with me. Drunk or not, she had to of-_on some level_-known that what she was doing was a _far _cry from 'cutting loose and pretending she was in college'. But no. All the blame rests on me and the alcohol, of course. I had to pretend it never happened so she could go back to her perfect life with that _idiot_.

_"I love Jack, Danny, you have to believe me."_ Maddie finally forced out, her voice cracking. _"I love him with all my heart."_

_"I know you do, Mom."_

Daniel already knew where this was going. You could see it in his eyes. I watched with stony resentment as Maddie spilled our most hated and treasured secret, to her son, no less. I still didn't understand _why _though, and why _now_?

_"A-And I don't know why I let things go so far with...I was just so drunk and he...well...well, Vlad isn't exactly the most unattractive man in the world."_

_"Mom."_ Daniel stopped her, horror overtaking his expression. _"Are you-do you mean-...did you sleep with Vlad?"_

I watched Maddie burst into tears apathetically, the boy's jaw going slack. As much as I wanted to feel sorry for her, I really couldn't. I still love her, I always will...but this intimate secret of ours...it was a topic I long tried to forget for this exact reason.

I'll never be able to forgive her for what happened.

_ "I can't believe you slept with him."_ Daniel muttered, eyes distant.

A humorless snort slipped out as I watched his expression. He's always been like an a open book with is emotions, and now was no different. As Maddie continued to cry and sob pitifully, Danny looked down at her and tried his best to be comforting. Even an idiot could tell that the effort was cold, though. Daniel looked as betrayed as I felt, anger, confusion, pain...all of these emotions flying through him like a train off its track. I rubbed my fingers against my temples, suddenly feeling extremely exhausted of the whole situation. I didn't want to think about what this would do to my barely existing relationship with Daniel.

_"Why are you even telling me this?" _he asked angrily, echoing my own question.

_"B-Because t-that's not the worst of it."_

For the second time that evening, I froze. Slowly, I lifted my head from my fingertips, not having the faintest idea of what she could be talking about. Was...was she going to tell the boy that I hadn't been the one to instigate it? That _she _was the one who came at _me_?

_"Mom, how could anything top you betraying Dad like that? God, all of Vlad's creepy desperation makes so much more sense now!"_

I scoffed. Desperation indeed.

_"I'm so sorry, sweetie. I'm so so sorry."_

Maddie was now so distraught that she was rocking back and forth, burying her face in a wad of tissues. Danny's anger and hurt slowly diminished, lingering on the edges of his expression in lieu of pity.

_"Mom...just...just calm down, okay? It's alright, it...it was a long time ago. It'll be okay. ...Mom?"_

But strangely, Maddie was shaking her head. When Daniel attempted to hug her she went so far as to scoot away, as though she were unworthy. I frowned, heart beating nervously at her strange actions. I couldn't even guess as to what was the matter, but something in my gut had me on edge.

_"Oh Danny...After that happened...I...I started feeling sick-"_

_"Well yeah, I don't blame you, I mean come on, it's Vla-"_

_"No Danny."_

Her tone was grave, capturing my unyielding attention. My heart rate inexplicably increased, every part of my being hanging onto her words for no apparent reason. Maddie shook her head with a tortured expression, standing up and twisting her fingers together.

_"I'm talking about m-morning sickness. I...I was pregnant." _

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even move. Maddie was still crying, and Danny said something with a confused expression, but I couldn't hear a thing. My entire world was crashing down around me as it simultaneously built itself into a heaven. Blood was absolutely pounding in my ears. She...she was pregnant? She...got pregnant...after we...with my...my...

Without even thinking about it I looked at Daniel, at _my son_. Something broke in my chest, pain and elation like I'd never imagined mixing horribly. I still couldn't breathe, sheer disbelief keeping me rooted as her words started to hit me. The implications burrowed into my chest like knives, each lost experiences I could have had with my son a stabbing ache, all the memories and happiness I missed out on, all that I had _stolen _from me.

Daniel...Danny, he...he looked utterly horrified. So many of my own turbulent emotions were slamming into me that I didn't know which one to feel, so I felt them all. Utter shock that what I'd wanted all along had already been mine, disbelief that I'd suffered through twenty unnecessary years of loneliness, blinding fury that the very woman I loved had been so selfish as to keep something like this from me, and then pain, _so much pain_, because Daniel...Daniel really _was _my son...and he'll hate me forever because of it.

_"No."_ he croaked, shaking his head. _"My dad is Jack, your husband."_

_"D-Danny please don't make this h-harder than it is!"_

_"Vlad cannot be my...he-he isn't-"_ the words choked in his throat.

_"I'm s-so so sorry Danny." _Maddie continued to cry and apologize, like she's always done_. "I know this m-must be hard for you."_

_"You think?You're trying to tell me that Vlad is my father! That fruitloop can't be my father!" _

His horror had moved on to fury, sending him into a restless pace. I don't know why I just sat there and watched him reject me. There was no other reaction Daniel could have to news like this except fury and denial, yet still I sat there and witnessed my only son renounce me. The bitter irony made me want to strangle something, but honestly, despite all of my own pain, I couldn't blame him in the least.

_"Honey, I don't want it to be true anymore than you do, but there's no denying it. I even got a DNA test done during the pregnancy, and it said Jack wasn't the biological father which could only mean-"_

_"DON'T!"_ Danny finally snapped, his laborious breathing turning into a furious scream._ "Don't say it! You don't-this can't-this can't be true!"_

My boy paced in circles like a caged animal. I followed him, seeing a life time of experiences that we both missed out on. I could have given him the world-I _would _have given him the world, even _before _this overwhelming discovery. But he was eighteen now, and I could do noting to rectify what had been wronged because I was too late. There were only regrets and bitterness left, _as usual. _It seemed I'd live out the rest of my life in such a state because I knew, with a heartbreaking ache in my chest, that Danny would make sure of it.

_"D-Does...Does Vlad know?"_

_"I never told him."_

_"He will never know the truth."_

His words further shattered my shriveled heart, though I knew they were coming. The intensity of his glare left no room for argument. I was far from the powerful, half-ghost billionaire in that moment. I was nothing. I never wanted to disappear more in my life than at that moment.

_"I'm eighteen now. No one ever has to know the truth, especially Vlad. If-If he knew that...that I'm his..." _

Daniel's words echoed somewhere far away, proceeded by a door slamming and more sobs from Maddie. Without thinking I shot an ectoblast at the television and blew the entire thing up, sending the cat shrieking into the next room and showering the floor with sparks. I didn't care though. I don't think I cared about anything. Everything I'd ever wanted had always been right under my nose, and for eighteen years I missed my chance. I truly had everything, and yet, I had _nothing_.

I sat there until the pain finally numbed over and was replaced by a seething, ice cold fury. Someone would pay for this treachery, of that I had no doubt. And they were going to pay _**a lot**_.


	24. Heartbeat

Ho Jeez I seriously miss fanfiction. :c

(10/29/12-Minor edit! The last word in this blurb was really bothering me, so I changed it to something that packed more of a punch.)

* * *

The effects of my ghost half permeate every part of my being. Even as a human, I can't escape the trace reminders of my own perversity. It's in the way I walk, the way I stand; to a trained eye, I might be so bold as to say my condition is obvious. But of course, as there are only two of my species, and I am already the most evolved, who is there to notice?

Daniel doesn't pay attention to the minute signs of his ghost half. The boy is much too busy assailing every ghost that happens to cross his path, ignoring the state of his own well being in favor of others. It's quite annoying, really, though I suppose I shouldn't complain too much. After all it's thanks to his inattention that I have ample opportunity to observe him whilst he is unaware. In fact, at this point, I probably know more about him than even his friends do, but I digress.

The indistinct abilities are the ones that require a certain sensitivity. They're not so much a power on their own as they are a better use of more noticeable ones, and even then it's mostly just an extension of heightened senses. Of course there are the more unnatural side effects, such as Daniel's human ability to silence a screaming football stadium, or my propensity to incur an unreasonable amount of shocks on the average day. These aren't the side effects I am alluding to, though, and perhaps it's really less of an effect as it is just a well honed skill (in which case, it's even _less _surprising that Daniel remains unaccomplished).

The human body, with all of its involuntary reactions and emotions, is practically an invitation into any given mind. People don't realize what they're giving away in a single reaction, and I mean beyond mere expression. Reading a person's face is something a child can do, and as one grows, the potential to notice more subtle signs develops. A twitch in the face here, the way the fist is held there...it's all an open book. Daniel especially, as the stupid boy wears his heart on his sleeve.

Well...most of it, at least.

Unquestionably, the highlight of my day has to come from getting a rise out of my little badger. It's simply so _easy_, and yet at the same time, intoxicatingly _complicated_. As I mentioned before, he remains delightfully unaware of the signs I can read when he glares so furiously at my smirking visage, signs _only I _can read. It's here that my heightened senses come to a climactic high, tuned into every response that comes from my Daniel. It's developed into something of a drug for me, actually, and every day I wonder when the boy will snap. Until then I take pleasure in poking all of his buttons into a seething rage, and then reveling in the curiously contradicting signs only Ican detect.

You see, Daniel doesn't know that I can read his heartbeat.

I don't even think the poor boy knows I can _hear _his heartbeat. It started on day one, when I caught Danny Phantom floating around the halls of my castle with that oh-so irritated expression on his face. He remained undaunted when I made my presence known, not even the lightest skip in his heart to give away fear. It had been very amusing.

It didn't take long to get his heart hammering, the agitated palpitations giving away nothing but cold fear as I split into four. For a long time after that moment, I'd always been able to catch a slight skip in his chest whenever he saw me, even a small twitch of fear, though he quickly worked to hide that. He could never hide his heart from me, though. He still can't.

A couple years or so passed, and with it our animosity only grew. Daniel became more accustomed to his powers, gaining confidence where confidence was due. I will openly admit that I was impressed with his determination, though he was a continued thorn in my side. I watched him grow more bold as he was able to hold his own in battle, sometimes even requiring me to "up my game" as he would say. More time passed, slipping by unnoticed as I grew more and more consumed by my battles with Daniel. As I long suspected, he matured into a worthy adversary, providing an enthralling challenge that I was almost too happy to oblige.

And, somewhere along the way, he stopped fearing me.

I'm not quite sure when it happened, but I remember the day I suddenly realized it. It hadn't been in the middle of a fight, where my focus remained on thwarting the jumpsuit-clad, smirking challenge before me. It was in a moment of equanimity between us, when I stopped by Fenton Works unannounced for a purely whimsical visit. Daniel had looked up from the couch with a spark in his eye, and I waited for the uneven jump of fear in his chest, but it never came. The boy-a man now, to be accurate-had only smirked at me, not even tensing when I sat down beside him.

"Vlad." He greeted cordially, still that animated glint in his eye.

"Daniel." I replied, just as even.

The moment wasn't near as crippling as I expected it would be. I was intrigued, my interest so piqued that I made a habit of visiting the boy more frequently. He took this in stride, complaining loudly of my presence on the outside, and remaining deliciously unaware of what I could hear going on inside.

There are more sign's than just a heartbeat that give away one's true emotions. Without ghost powers, one wouldn't be able to detect their subtle clues. I, however, could feel the temperature rise in Daniel's body before the blush ever graced his cheeks, hear the heavy pulse of blood drum through his head, see the smallest catch in breathe whenever I got too close in battle. The more time I spent with the little badger, the more excited these reactions became. And, of course, we can't ever forget his telling heartbeat.

Once I used to walk into a room and strike noticeable fear in Daniel's chest, a hammering sound of uneven thumps that could only mean agitation. Now, I walk into a room and listen to the curious beat that quickens into a solid rhythm, going faster and faster as I get closer until the blood starts to drum and I can feel the heat rise again. He still glares at me with that snarky smirk of his, expertly restraining the incited flame in his eyes and squelching it behind the brawn of battle, but I know better...

There are two main emotions that are most recognizable in a heartbeat. The first, of course, is fear. The second, taking a more practiced ear and even sharper eyes to notice, is love.


	25. 16 Weakness

Well this is horribly dark. Don't deny your passions guys. Bad shit goes down. Just look at Frollo.

* * *

Like a wet rag, he slammed against the corner of the stone building and fell in a dead heap. Two ectoblasts sent his limp body sliding across the pavement, long angry burn marks searing the skin. Before he could gather the energy to twitch, the offending specter appeared at his side and twisted black fingers into matted hair. He yanked him up, sneering in disgust at the blood that dribbled over his lips. The boy looked barely conscious at this point, hanging from his grasp as dead weight while raspy breaths ghosted in and out of his collapsing lungs.

The specter gave a snort of derisive laughter and dropped him to the pavement, stamping out the never ending pang in his heart that constantly rang whenever he saw the boy. Not anymore though. He'd make sure of it.

"You're nothing but a miserable mistake, Daniel." he spat, kicking the teen onto his back.

For a few seconds he watched the child choke on his own blood, dispassionate, cold eyes refusing to acknowledge his own breaking heart. The pang was still there though, only worsening as he watched his sole counterpart expire. A spark of rage overcame him. He crouched down and grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck, shaking him roughly and repeating all the things he'd been telling himself for months.

"I love your mother. She's the _only _one for me." He hissed. "You are _nothing _compared to her!"

Vlad threw him back to the pavement, breathing heavily as he stared into dulled, blue eyes. Danny wasn't moving anymore. He wasn't struggling or screaming like earlier, either. Determinedly hateful eyes roamed over the fallen body, lingering for just a second longer on dark ovals marring his neck, and the purple bruises staining his hips. Disgust unrivaled flared up again, and he lashed out, striking the body with bone breaking strength. The boy rolled farther away, a final ectoblast shoving him against a shadowed dumpster in a back ally.

Vlad walked up to him with slow strides, his cape billowing around his ankles. He looked down at the bleeding, unmoving mass, feeling something break and crumble inside him. He shoved it away with all the contempt he could muster, tightening his clenched fists and nearly letting his rage take over again. But this fight...it was long since finished.

He crouched down again, grabbing the boy's neck and forcing his face forward as he squeezed with all his might.

"I never loved you." he hissed, agony breaking his heart into tiny little pieces as he refused to feel it.

Danny didn't respond. Vlad held on, as though waiting for a reaction he knew would never come. Festering hate twisted in the pit of his stomach as he looked upon the bruised and battered face of his fifteen year old adversary. It was all his fault, really. He never should have tried to play the hero when he was only a child. Well, Vlad decided, if he wanted to pretend he was a hero then he would die like one: cold and alone.

Oh, but Danny died a long time ago, and Vlad knew it. The spark of fight that so defined his personality went out hours ago, in a dark place where history would never record what transpired. Eventually the remaining life in his eyes followed suit, and now they were here, next to a dumpster at the back of an alley.

"You chose your fate, Daniel." Vlad whispered, squeezing his neck even tighter though there was no remaining breath to stop. "I won't allow you to haunt me anymore."

He stood, stared for a few seconds more, and flew off, leaving behind a memory and a regret that would send him to the grave.


	26. Merry Christmas

I felt bad that I had nothing to show on Christmas morning for you guys, so I wrote this. Hopefully it's not as bad as I'm afraid it is. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

(To those who care, I'm updating Domination next. That is all)

* * *

Christmas morning.

I opened my aged eyes with all the excitement of a tired old man, which, I suppose, I was at this point. No shrill scream of excitement from happy children or a warm embrace from a partner met me as I dragged myself up to greet the morning. I was, as I have always been, completely and utterly alone.

This thought was depressing enough to potentially send me back under the warm comforters, but I had work to do. With no one to share Christmas with, it struck me as rather stupid to celebrate it at all, so why not get some work done instead? I still have a mountain of analyst reports that need to be addressed, after all. Christmas was just another day for me, as it's always been since the first holiday after the accident. Nothing more than a marketing opportunity and possibly a bottle of strong liquor...

Yawning, I ambled into the shower. The water was the perfect temperature upon turning the nozzle, though I hardly noticed. I moved on auto pilot, from the shower, to the closet, to the hallway. My entire mansion was utterly silent. Cold, too, though certainly not in temperature because that geothermal heating system was doing its job, as it should. No, the mansion was cold in a different sense, although, in retrospect maybe it's not different at all. These halls have always been quiet and lonely, and today is no different.

I stopped by the study and merely looked at the plethora of work to be done, already feeling tired. Indulgence seemed to be called for this morning, so I put it off for at least a few more minutes for some coffee and perhaps a nice, warm breakfast. More silence greeted me as I slowly made my way down the hall, deciding to forgo ghost powers to take the long way. However, when not even Maddie the cat broke my long, solitary walk, I had to wonder why I was bothering.

Daniel had said that he might stop by later today, but I didn't believe him. The boy, well, man now, has been a little uncomfortable around me since a rather awkward truce has developed between us. To be honest, I think I'm a little uncomfortable around him as well, but I doubt for the same reasons as he. Neither of us actively planned to end up in such a vaguely defined position as a truce. It just...happened. I suppose it was inevitable when I stopped throwing my heart and soul at Maddie, and when Daniel became comfortable enough around me to ask for help. Perhaps age and a little growing up had something to do with it as well.

Of course, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't welcome to the change.

I've always been rather fond of Daniel, but that's something everyone knows, even his own parents. No one exactly knows _why _I'm so fond of the little badger, but that's something between Daniel and I. Even his own friends fail to understand the connection between us, the one Daniel finds harder and harder to deny with each passing day. The satisfaction I feel when he comes to _me _for problems is paramount, even if the occasions are few and far between. Someday, he'll better understand our developing relationship, as I suppose I will too. For now, however, I certainly enjoy playing with my little badger, as he's somehow become the sole focus of all my plotting. The little rat should feel honored too, I think.

With a small smile that had somehow wormed its way onto my face, I stopped by the library to pick up a good book. Perhaps I could put off work a little while longer this Christmas morning. There was no shame in enjoying a good book by the fireplace, after all. The maid brought me my morning coffee as I made my way to the preferred sitting room. It wasn't a very big room, but I'd had it decorated quite nicely. The fireplace took up most of one wall, and a long couch sat opposite of it. Bookshelves took up another end of the room, and a large window the last wall, directly behind the couch. I'd whimsically requested a Christmas tree be set up beside the fireplace, though the action was pointless. The only thing it really did was remind me of what I didn't have, but perhaps I could look at it as a mere decoration this morning. The maids _did _do a nice job of decorating it.

Feeling strangely more content than I had this morning, I gently opened the cream colored door into my private sitting room. As expected, the space was quiet save for a warmly crackling fire. Without much thought I set the cup of coffee on the table and glanced at the tree, nearly falling over when I discovered what was laying underneath it.

Daniel, _my _Daniel, was sleeping softly amid an array of wrapped gifts, looking as though he'd set them there and then decided to take a nap. I knew this couldn't be true however, because the boy was bound tightly with a red ribbon. There was a telling note attached to the ribbon on his head, and once I got over my shock, I carefully picked it up.

_Dear Plasmius,_

_ Merry Christmas. Come to the truce party next year. _

_ Skulker_

I had to read the note two more times before it really set in, and when it did, I promptly burst into laughter which quickly woke my present up. Needless to say, he wasn't nearly as happy as I was this Christmas morning.


	27. 8 Happiness

Just an old blurb I wrote a while back to get stuff off my chest. If there's one thing two years of college has taught me its that I don't know a damn thing. I just wanna be happy, and I'm not about to argue with happiness when it stares me in the face. ...Even if that means falling head over heels for a man named Sebastian and getting myself engaged two months later.

Scandalous, no? *wiggles eyebrows moronically*

_More_ _importantly_, Domination will not be updated soon. I am ashamed. -_-'

* * *

I've never thought very much about my sexuality. It's never really been something that I needed to think about.

I've been in love with Madeline for over twenty years. Before that, I was in love with the flowing curves of the female figure and never once thought maybe I would be attracted to anything else. It just never crossed my mind. Schooling, then ghosts, then college applications, and finally world domination is what I've thought about, not what pleases me in the bedroom. That was always a given.

I suppose life just enjoys pulling the rug out from under your feet, though.

I'm still very much attracted to women. The insinuation that I'm not wouldn't particularly bother me, as I'm well aware that world will incorrectly profile anything it doesn't understand, but I simply want this to be set straight. I still find women attractive.

I just happen to find Daniel _more _attractive.

Where this revelation came from I haven't the foggiest clue. Perhaps it developed over time or perhaps the potential has been there my entire life, waiting for the right man to fill its vacant spot. Either way, it doesn't matter very much. What matters is that the attraction is here now and no matter what I do, it refuses to go away. I simply can't take my eyes off him anymore. Half the time I lose our battles out of sheer inattention than any lack of ability. Daniel has taken notice, but luckily he's much too dense to connect the dots. Then again, maybe the notion that I find him attractive is just too outlandish a conclusion for him to come to. If the tables were turned, I'd certainly feel the same way.

I'm not quite sure what to do with this attraction now that I have it. Acting on it is a possibility, but then when considering the likely consequences, it quickly stops being a possibility. Perhaps this is simply a strange, mid-life crisis phase. Maybe I can wait it out and it will eventually go away. All I have to do is ignore it and keep my sights set on Maddie as I've done for the past twenty years. The only problem with that option, is that I simply don't _want _to. Frankly, and I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but pining after Madeline has become _boring_.

Daniel offers an entire world of refreshing excitement that I can hardly keep away from him for long. It's an incredibly good thing we're already mortal adversaries, or else my constant badgering might be a tad suspicious. I do have to wonder _why _I've found myself so suddenly attracted to him, though. Surely age has something to do with it. Daniel has grown into a fine paragon of form, powerful yet graceful, brazen yet humble, intelligent yet mindful. All the qualities I've never gotten to experience in another person peppered with his stubborn, impulsive, and fiery flare. Daniel is nothing like the boy I first met him as. Now nearly twenty years old, the hybrid has become my true equal in every sense of the word, offering me a legitimate challenge and constantly standing up to my own power. It's absolutely infuriating, and I love every second of it.

Some nights, after waking from a dream full of all the illicit caressing I can never have from my little badger, I lie there and imagine a sickening idealistic fantasy. One where Daniel reciprocates my inexplicable desires and our greatest trouble becomes the reaction of the public, something which would really, hardly be a trouble at all. I imagine Daniel would be quite fret, and I would be the one to sooth his concerns and remind him that none of it mattered. I would tell him that people, his family and friends included, could never understand a matter as deep and complex as _us_. They would be too confused and shocked over the coupling of our relationship to understand that nothing mattered but the happiness we both had. Biased opinions and personal judgement would cause blindness to what was truly present, a mutual and welcoming union of two people in the throws of love. Two people, two hybrids, who never should have fallen in love, but despite all the evidence to the contrary, despite all the expectations, rose above the fabrications of society and found a light of happiness that overrode all else.

Then, of course, I open my eyes and remember that I'm not floating in a realm of happiness, love, and light; that reality is one with a lonely bedroom, dark shadows, and twenty more years of pining after unrequited love.

And Daniel wonders why I'm always so bitter.


End file.
